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BX  8930  .G73x  c.2  1 

Green,  Ashbel,  1762-1848.  1 

A  historical  sketch  or  .; 

compendious  view  of  ^ 


4 

I 


I 


A 
HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

OR 

COMPENDIOUS    VIEW 

OF 

DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    MISSIONS 

THE   PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

OP  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

PREPARED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  OF  THE 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

By  ASHBEL  green,  D.D. 


f 


PHILADELPHIA: 
WILLIAM    S.    MARTIEN, 

;OUTH  EAST  CORNER  OF  SEVENH  AND  GEORGE  STREETS. 

1838. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1838,  by  Wm. 
S.  Martien,  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court,  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  Board  of  Foreiga  Missions  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  at  their  meeting  in  Baltimore,  in  Octo- 
ber and  November  1837,  passed  the  following  reso- 
lution :  viz. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green  be  request- 
ed to  draw  up  a  history  of  the  Foreign  Missionary 
operations  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United 
States,  to  be  published  by  the  Executive  Committee, 
with  the  proceedings  of  this  Board.^' 

When  the  duty  assigned  by  the  foregoing  resolu- 
tion came  to  be  performed,  it  was  found  on  exami- 
nation, that  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  had  not  only  been  conducted 
by  the  same  agencies,  but  that,  to  some  extent,  they 
had  been  mingled  together.  A  compendious  view 
of  both,  was  therefore  determined  on,  as  stated  in 
the  introduction  to  the  Sketch. 

Institutions  established  or  conducted  mainly  by 
associations  or  individuals,  not  immediately  connec- 
ted with  the  Presbyterian  church,  when  mentioned 
at  all,  have  received  but  a  cursory  and  summary 
notice.  Their  operations  have  not  been  traced,  al- 
though carried  on  in  concert  with  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  denomination.  Institutions  characte- 
ristically Presbyterian  have  been  regarded  as  the 
only  proper  subjects  of  any  thing  like  historical  de- 
tail. Nor  has  it  been  considered  as  consistent  with 
the  plan  adopted,  to  mention  such  of  these  as  were 


4  ADVERTISEMENT. 

known  to  have  had  no  other  than  a  very  brief  exist- 
ence, or  a  very  limited  action.  If  any  societies  hav- 
ing a  just  claim  to  be  noticed  in  this  compendious 
view,  have  been  altogether  omitted,  the  writer  can 
only  say,  that  they  have  escaped  inquiries,  made  as 
extensively  and  diligently  as  his  time  and  means  of 
information  w^ould  permit. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  readers  of  this  Sketch  will 
keep  in  mind  that  its  nature  forbade  much  enlarge- 
ment. It  had  been  easier  for  the  author  to  compose 
a  much  larger  work,  than  to  condense  his  materials, 
after  he  had  collected  them,  into  the  necessary  com- 
pass. Probably  some  will  think  that  equal  justice 
has  not  been  done  to  the  numerous  institutions  that 
have  been  brought  under  review.  This  will  not  be 
fairly  attributed  to  partiality  in  the  writer — it  is 
owing  solely  to  the  fact,  that  after  much  research  he 
could  obtain  but  scanty  materials  for  some  articles, 
while  for  others  his  materials  were  abundant,  and 
near  at  hand.  He  is  sensible  of  the  defects  of  his 
work,  but  with  all  its  imperfections  he  hopes  it 
may  be  useful. 

As  the  following  Sketch  could  not  be  submitted 
to  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  as  the  larger  part  of  it 
has  not  been  seen  even  by  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee, it  is  to  be  distinctl}^  understood,  that  the  writer 
alone  is  responsible  for  the  statements  it  contains. 


CONTENTS, 


Paffe 

Introduction  -        -        -        -        -        13 

Domestic  Missions  -        -        -        -         14 

Presbyterian  church  always  a  missionary 
church 15 

Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  early  regarded  as 
missionary  ground        -         -         -         -         16 

Collections  annually  taken  up  in  the  Churches, 
by  order  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  in  1766,  to  aid  in  sending  the 
Gospel  to  destitute  places  -  -  -  16 
The  General  Assembly  constituted  1788,  and 
met  the  first  time  at  Philadelphia,  May, 
1789 17 

Vigorous  measures  adopted  by  the  General 
Assembly  to  raise  funds  for  the  missionary 
cause,  1800 18 

Standing  Committee  of  Missions  appointed  in 
1802 19 

Circular  addressed  to  every  Protestant  Mis- 
sionary Society  known  in  Europe  -         20 

Missionary  operations  among  the  African  race 
in  the  Southern  section  of  our  country  20 

1^ 


b  CONTENTS. 

Services  performed  by  the  lamented  John  H. 
Rice,  D.  D.  .         -         .         -         . 

Synod  of  Virginia  instrumental  in  forming 
Presbyterian  churches  in  Kentucky 

Synod  of  Pittsburgh  efficiently  engaged  in  sus- 
taining Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions 

Monthly  periodical  issued  by  the  Standing 
Committee  of  the  General  Assembly 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
New  Jersey,  formed  in  1800.     Its  orga- 
nization independent  of  the   General  As- 
sembly       ------ 

Board  of  Missions  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, constituted  in  1816 

Formation  of  Missionary  Societies  auxiliary 
to  the  General  Assembly's  Board  recom- 
mended      ------ 

Duties  of  Secretary  and  General  Agent  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  performed  by  a  few  of 
the  members,  amidst  pastoral  and  other  en- 
gagements -         .         -         -         _ 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New 

York,  formed  1815  -  -  -  - 
New  York  Evangelical  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, instituted  about  1816 
United  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  form- 
ed by  the  union  of  the  Young  Men's  Mis- 
sionary Society  and  the  New  York  Evan- 
gelical Missionary  Society 

Meeting  of  delegates  from  different  states  of 
New-England  held  at  Boston,  in  1826,  to 


Page 


CONTENTS.  7 

Page 

form  a  General  Society  for  Domestic  Mis- 
sions ------         26 

American  Home  Missionary  Society,  insti- 
tuted May  1826            _         _         _         .         27 
Refusal  of  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society  to  co-operate  with  the  General  As- 
sembly's Board  of  Missions            -         -         28 
Resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1837, 
recommending  the   discontinuance  of  the 
operations  of  the  American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society  and  the  American  Education 
Society  within  the  Presbyterian  church  29 
The  organization  of  a  Philadelphia  Missiona- 
ry and  other  Presbyterian  Missionary  So- 
cieties in  the  city  and  liberties  of  Philadel- 
phia              31 

Pennsylvania  Missionary  Society,  formed 

1826 31 

Re-organization  op  the  Board  or  Missions 

OF  the  General  Assembly  in  1828  34 

FOREIGN   OR   HEATHEN   MISSIONS         37 

Indian  Mission  on  Long  Island,  the  first  hea- 
then mission  instituted  in  the  Presbyterian 
church         ------         38 

Second  mission  under  Rev.  David  Brainerd        39 

Mission  to  Muskingum  river,  state  of  Ohio.        45 
New  York   Missionary   Society   organized 

1796 45 

Transfer  of  all  their  missions  to  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  -         -         47 


8  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Northern    Missionary    Society    organized 

1797 47 

Mission  to  the  Cherokee  Indians  -         -  49 
Rev.  Gideon  Blackburn  engaged  as  a  mission- 
ary    -------49 

Efforts  to  establish  schools  among  the  Chero- 

kees             -.--.-  49 
Letter  from  Rev.  G.  Blackburn  on  the  pro- 
gress  of   civilization    among   the   Indians 

(note) 51 

Mission  among  the  Wyandot  Indians     -  52 
Mission  at  Cornplanter's  Town     -         -  53 
Mission  at  Lewistown,  Ohio             -         -  55 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  insti- 
tuted ISIS 55 

Their  operations  countenanced  and  patronized 

by  the  general  government          -         -  57 

The  Two  Osage  Missions         -         -         -  59 
The  want  of  success  in  this  mission  induces 

its  final  abandonment             -         -         -  61 

The  Cataraugus  Mission         -         -         -  62 

Encouraging  circumstances  connected  with  it  63 

The  Mackinaw  Mission            -         -         -  64 

The  Haytien  Mission      -         -         -         -  65 

The  Tuscarora  Mission  ~         -         -         -  66 

The  Seneca  Mission         -         -         -         -  6S 
Legislature  of  New  York  reject  a  petition 
praying  for  the  residence  of  ministers  of 

the  Gospel  on  Indian  lands             -         -  69 

The  Fort  Gratiot  Mission      -        -         -  70 


CONTENTS.  9 

Page 

The  Maumee  Mission       -         -         -         -         70 
Proceedings  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  in  re- 
lation thereto       -         -         -         -         -         71 
Report  on  the  state  of  the  Maumee  school  73 
Remarks  on  the  transfer  of  the  missions  of  the 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  the 
American  Board            -         -         -         -         75 
Reasons  adduced  in  favour  of  this  union    -         77 
Remarks  on  the  preceding  reasons     -         -         79 
Action  of  the  general  Assembly  and  Synod  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  on  the  subject 
of  the  amalgamation      -         -         -         -         82 
Report  and  resolution  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly      -         -         84 

Mission  among  the  Chickasaw  Indians,  the 
only  one  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  not 
transferred  to  the  American  Board         -         87 
Chickasaw  Mission  under  the  supervision  of 

the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia       87 
Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions  authorized  by 
the  General  Assembly  -         -         -         88 

Mission  to  Buenos  Ayres         -         -         -         89 
Resolution  of  the  General  Assembly's  Board 
of  Missions  rendering  assistance  to  this  mis- 
sion -         -         -         -         -         -         92 

Cause  of  failure        -----         93 

Concluding  remarks  on  the  different  senti- 
ments existing  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
on  the  most  eligible  method  of  prosecuting 
Foreign  Missions  -         -         -         -         94 


10  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Western  Foreign  Missionary  Sociey  form- 
ed IN  November  1831         -         -         -  102 
Circular  letter  issued  by  this  Society         -  102 
Formation  of  the  Society          -         -         -  107 
Extracts  from  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 

W.  Barr,  one  of  its  missionaries    -         -  109 

Missions  and  missionaries  under  the  care  of 

the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  110 

Mission  TO  Western  Africa    -         -         -  111 

Ordination  of  Missionaries        -         -         -  112 

Death  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Barr,  one  of  the 

missionaries  destined  for  Africa     -         -  113 

Embarkation  of  Missionaries    -         -         -  115 

Their  arrival  at  Monrovia          -          -         -  116 

Death  of  Mr.  Cloud  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laird  117 

The  state  of  the  African  Mission       -         -  121 

Mission  to  Northern  India     -         -         .  123 

Embarkation  and  arrival  of  the  missionaries  124 

Death  of  Mrs.  Lowrie      -         -         -         -  125 

Death  of  Mr.  Reed           -         -         .         _  129 
Reinforcement  of  the  Mission  by  the  arrival 

of  several  Missionaries           -         -         -  138 
Mr.  Lowrie  has  permission  to  return  to  the 

United  States  to  recruit  his  health           -  140 

Interesting  account  of  missionary  stations  142 
Details  of  the  four  missionary  stations  in  Nor- 
thern India           -          -         -         -          -  146 
Mission  to  the  Western  Indians    -         -  148 

The  Iowa  Mission 153 

Details  of  the  fVea  and  loiva  stations         -  155 

Mission  to  Smyrna  -         .         -         -  155 


CONTENTS.  11 

Page 

Mission  to  China     -----       157 

Interesting  statement  relative  to  the  progress 
of  casting  types  of  the  Chinese  characters       159 
Projected  or  Prospective  Missions         -       163 
Indian  Tribes  -         -         -         -         -       164 

Mission  to  Calcutta       -        -        -        -       I66 
The  Foreign  Missionary  Chronicle        -       167 
Transfer  or  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society         -         -         -         -       170 

Proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1835, 
in  relation  to  the  transfer      -         -         -       170 

Report  of  a  Committee  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  1836 173 

Terms  of  agreement  between  the  Committee 
of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburgh 174 

Report  of  a  Committee  appointed  by  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly  of  1836,  to  review  the 
whole  case,  and  present  it  to  the  conside- 
ration of  the  Assembly  -         -         -       177 

Proceedings  of  the  Assembly  on  the  report, 
and  final  rejection  thereof     -         -         -       182 

Transactions  in  General  Assembly  of  1837       185 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  overture  from 
the  Presbytery  of  Salem,  on  the  subject  of 
foreign  missions,  and  of  "  The  Board  of  Fo- 
reign Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  the  United  States  of  America"  -       185 

Directors  for  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
appointed 188 

First  meeting  of  the  Board  held  October  1837   189 


12  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Concluding  Remarks       -         -         -         -       191 

1.  The  importance  of  sustaining  our  mission- 
ary operations  on  right  principles,  and  from 
right  motives       -         -         -         -         -       193 

2.  Before  the  world  shall  be  converted  to 
God,  there  must  be  a  practical  conviction 
that  it  is  the  power  of  God  alone,  working 
on  the  minds  of  the  heathen,  that  can  ever 
change  them.        -         -         -         -         -       195 

3.  Dependance  on  God  for  the  success  of  mis- 
sions ought  not  to  diminish,  but  increase, 
the  means  and  exertions  that  are  used  to 
produce  this  effect         -         -         -         -       198 

4.  Faithful  missionaries  ought  to  be  "  esteem- 
ed very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's 
sake,"  and  every  reasonable  provision  made 

for  their  support  in  foreign  lands  -       202 

5.  We  ought  not  to  calculate  that  great  and 
speedy  success  will  follow  our  missionary 
enterprises 203 

6.  Strict  economy  ought  to  be  observed  in 
the  use  of  funds  in  managing  the  mission- 
ary concerns  at  home  -         _         -       204 

Appendix  ------       207 

Proceedings  of  the  Western  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society,  at  its  last  Meeting,  May  1837    207 


A 
HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 


INTRODUCTION 


/ 


The  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  North  America 
possessed,  essentially,  the  character  of  a  Mission- 
ary enterprise.  Its  propagators  when  they  fled  from 
persecution  in  the  land  of  their  fathers,  had  it  in 
view,  not  only  to  be  able  to  worship  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences,  free  from  moles- 
tation, but  to  transmit  the  gospel  in  its  purity  to 
their  descendants,  and  to  other  emigrants,  in  all  suc- 
ceeding generations  ;  and  they  also  hoped  to  impart 
its  blessings  to  the  Pagan  tribes,  who  inhabited  the 
wilderness  in  which  they  sought  an  abode.  As  in- 
troductory, therefore,  to  a  brief  "  History  of  the 
Foreign  Missionary  operations  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  United  States,"  it  is  proposed  to  take 
a  rapid  survey  of  the  Missions  of  this  Church  among 
the  descendants  of  Europeans  ;  and  to  follow  it  by  a 
narrative,  m_ore  in  detail,  of  missionary  operations, 
2 


14  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

among  the  aborigines  of  our  own  country,  and 
among  the  heathen  of  foreign  lands.  It  is  believed 
that  the  present  will  not  be  considered  as  an  unfit 
occasion  for  the  survey  contemplated  ;  nor  prove  un- 
welcome to  those  who  take  an  interest  in  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Presbyterian  church,  many  of  whom 
are  almost  wholly  unacquainted  with  its  missionary 
history. 


DOMESTIC  MISSIONS. 

The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  was  the  first 
that  existed  on  the  American  continent,  and  was 
formed,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  in  the  year 
1704.  Its  clerical  members  were  emigrants  from 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  with  one  individual  from  New 
England.  They  were,  with  a  single  exception,  al- 
most wholly  destitute  of  property  ;  and  the  people 
to  whom  they  ministered,  being  like  themselves  in 
poverty,  and  struggling  for  subsistence  in  a  wilder- 
ness land,  could  contri])ute  but  a  pittance  to  the  sup- 
])ort  of  their  pastors. 

In  these  circumstances,  little  more  could  be  done 
for  spreading  the  gospel,  than  to  proclaim  its  truths 
and  administer  its  ordinances,  among  the  inhabitants 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  preachers.  lUit  in  this  field  of 
operation,  the  labours  of  the  fathers  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian churcli  were  most  excm])lary.     It  may  be  ques- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  15 

tioned  whether  any  missionaries,  in  more  recent 
timeSj  have  made  greater  exertions  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel to  the  destitute,  or  have  endured  more  hardships 
in  doing  it,  than  were  exhibited  by  these  venerable 
and  devoted  men.  They  not  only  preached  to  the 
people  to  whom  they  sustained  the  pastoral  relation, 
but  extended,  as  far  as  possible,  their  excursions  of 
benevolence  into  the  adjacent  regions ;  and  this  with- 
out any  pecuniary  compensation  or  facilities  of  tra- 
velling. The  affecting  cries  of  the  destitute  came  to 
them  at  every  meeting  of  their  Presbytery,  as  well 
as  at  their  individual  abodes  ;  and  the  efforts  which 
they  made  to  relieve  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  sup- 
pliants, were  neither  few  nor  feeble. 

In  process  of  time,  when  the  Presbytery  was  en- 
larged into  a  Synod,  and  a  small  fund  was  obtained 
to  aid  the  operations,  and  partially  to  relieve  the 
pressing  necessities  of  its  members,  missionary  ser- 
vices were  extended  to  places  more  remote.  It  was 
in  this  way,  that  Presbyterian  churches  were  plant- 
ed, not  only  in  the  British  colonies  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland,  but  also  in  Virginia,  and  in  North 
and  South  Carolina.  The  Presbyterian  church  has, 
in  fact,  been  always  a  Missionary  Church;  and  to 
her  being  such,  is  to  be  attributed,  under  the  blessing 
of  God,  her  rapid  increase  and  her  present  wide  ex- 
tension. In  a  period  of  little  more  than  a  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  this  Church,  embracing  at  first  but 
six  or  seven  ministers  of  the  gospel,  has  located 
congregations,  with  their  pastors,  through  a  region 
extending  from  Canada,  on  the  North,  to  Florida,  in 


16  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

the  South,  and  from  the  Atlantic,  on  the  East,  to 
parts  beyond  the  Mississippi,  in  the  West ;  and  now 
consists  of  nineteen  Synods,  one  hundred  and  six 
Presbyteries,  and  nearly  two  thousand  ordained 
ministers;  between  two  and  three  hundred  licen- 
tiates ;  more  than  two  hundred  and  forty  candidates 
for  the  gospel  ministry  ;  and  not  less  than  two  thou- 
sand churches. — Of  the  detail  of  her  Domestic 
Missions,  only  the  most  cursory  view  can  now  be 
taken. 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  Virginia  and  the 
Carolinas  were  early  regarded  as  missionary  ground; 
and  we  now  add,  that  they  continued  to  be  thus  re- 
garded, till  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary 
war  of  our  country.  Their  necessities  formed  a 
marked  subject  of  attention,  and  measures  were 
adopted  for  their  relief,  at  almost  every  meeting  of 
the  Synod,  before  the  unhappy  rent  which  divided 
it,  in  1741.  After  that  occurrence,  till  the  re-union 
of  the  Synods,  in  1758,  each  of  the  conflicting  bodies 
made  vigorous  exertions,  to  supply  the  spiritual  v/ants 
of  the  Southern  portion  of  the  then  British  colonies. 
The  result  was,  that  not  only  many  churches  were 
organized,  but  several  Presbyteries  wxre  formed,  in 
that  section  of  our  country. 

In  the  year  1766,  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  then  the  supreme  judicatory  of  the 
Church,  directed  that  a  su])scription  should  be  taken 
up,  or  a  collection  made,  in  all  their  congregations, 
vacant  as  well  as  supplied,  for  sending  the  gospel  to 
destitute  places ;  and,  in  the  following  year,  they  de- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  17 

termined  that  such  a  collection  should  be  annually 
made  ;  and  they  adopted  other  suitable  measures  to 
carry  into  effect  their  benevolent  design. 

During  the  war  of  Independence,  the  public  mind 
was  so  engrossed  with  the  state  of  the  country,  that 
all  religious  institutions  languished,  and  some  were 
temporarily  suspended.  In  the  South,  the  hostile 
armies  overran,  and  for  a  time  had  the  occupancy  of 
a  part  of  the  region,  to  which  missions  had  previ- 
ously been  sent ;  and  missionary  operations,  on  the 
whole  frontier  of  the  United  States,  were  precluded, 
by  the  existence  or  the  fear  of  Indian  hostilities. 
Such,  nevertheless,  was  the  strength  of  the  missiona- 
ry spirit  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  that  a  number 
of  missionaries  were  sent  forth  during  this  war;  and 
the  subject  continued  to  command  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  as 
long  as  it  remained  the  highest  judicatory  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  The  General  Assembly, 
which  was  constituted  by  that  Synod  in  1788,  met, 
for  the  first  time,  in  Philadelphia,  in  May  1789. 
During  the  sessions  of  this  first  year,  the  missionary 
cause  claimed  a  particular  attention.  The  four  Sy- 
nods, then  existing  under  the  Assembly,  were  di- 
rected to  provide  and  recommend,  each,  two  mis- 
sionaries to  the  next  Assembly  ;  and  that  funds 
might  be  prepared  to  meet  the  expense  expected  to 
be  incurred,  it  was  enjoined  on  all  the  Presbyteries, 
to  take  measures  for  raising  collections,  in  all  the 
congregations  within  their  bounds. 

It  is  believed  that  at  this  time  (1789)  there  was 
2* 


18 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS 


not,  in  the  United  States,  another  religious  denomi- 
nation beside  the  Presbyterian,  that  prosecuted  any 
domestic  missionary  enterprise ;  except  that  then,  as 
since,  the  Methodists  sent  forth  their  circuit  riders, 
in  various  directions.  A  few  years  subsequently, 
the  Congregationalists  of  Connecticut  sent  missiona- 
ries among  the  emigrants  from  that  State,  who  had 
located  themselves  within  the  bounds  of  the  states  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania ;  and,  in  ^Massachusetts 
also,  at  a  period  somewhat  later,  missionary  opera- 
tions were  set  on  foot.  But  for  some  time,  with  the 
exception  stated,  the  Presbyterian  Church  stood 
alone,  at  least  as  to  any  regular  and  systematic  ef- 
forts, in  supplying  the  destitute  portions  of  our  coun- 
try with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  For  thirteen 
years  in  succession,  the  General  Assembly,  at  every 
annual  meeting,  either  by  a  committee  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  or  by  measures  adopted  on  motion  in 
the  House,  took  the  missionary  concern  into  special 
consideration,  heard  the  reports  of  those  appointed 
in  a  preceding  year,  and  made  new  appointments, 
as  extensively  as  missionaries  and  the  means  of  their 
support  could  be  obtained. 

In  1800,  measures  of  increased  vigour  and  effi- 
ciency were  adopted,  to  raise  funds  for  the  support 
of  the  missionary  cause.  Agents  were  commis- 
sioned and  sent  out  into  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, to  solicit  donations  in  aid  of  the  Assembly's 
Missions;  and  the  result  was,  the  formation  of  a 
fund  of  upwards  of  twenty  two  thousand  dollars, 
conditioned   by  the  donors,  that  the  capital  should 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  19 

remain  unbroken,  and  the  annual  interest  only  be 
expended.  At  this  period,  the  Rev.  Jedediah  Chap- 
man was  appointed  a  stated  missionary  for  four 
years,  in  the  north  western  part  of  the  state  of 
New  York ;  to  direct  and  assist  other  missionaries, 
and  to  spend  six  months  of  each  year  in  personal 
labours,  in  this,  at  that  time,  the  most  favoured  mis- 
sionary field.  He  subsequently  received  mission- 
ary appointments,  till  the  time  of  his  death  in  1813. 
The  same  year  (1800)  the  Rev.  James  Hall  was  ap- 
pointed a  missionary  to  Natchez,  for  several  months ; 
and  was  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  James  Bowman 
and  William  Montgomery,  appointed  by  the  Synod 
of  the  Carolinas.  This  mission  was  performed  in  a 
very  able  and  satisfactory  manner. 

In  1802,  an  important  alteration  took  place  in  the 
manner  of  conducting  the  Missionary  business.  It 
had  now  become  so  extensive,  that  the  Assembly 
found  it  would  be  impossible,  amidst  the  numerous 
concerns  claiming  their  attention,  to  devote  to  it, 
during  the  short  term  of  their  annual  sessions,  that 
time  and  regard  which  its  successful  and  extended 
prosecution  demanded.  To  diminish  their  business, 
and  to  ensure  a  proper  management  of  all  their  mis- 
sionary affairs,  they  appointed  a  Standing  Commit- 
tee OF  Missions,  to  act  through  the  year;  pre- 
scribed to  them  the  duties  to  be  performed,  and 
clothed  them  with  such  powers  as  were  then  deemed 
sufficient.  Immediately  on  the  rising  of  the  Assem- 
bly, the  Committee  organized  themselves,  and  en- 
tered with  alacrity  and  zeal  on  the  discharge  of  the 


20  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

interesting  duties  assi2;ned  them.  A  circular  letter 
was  addressed  to  Presbyteries,  urging  their  assist- 
ance in  the  missionary  enterprise;  a  system  of  in- 
structions was  drawn  up  and  printed,  for  directing 
the  conduct  of  the  missionaries  employed  ;  and  a  cir- 
cular letter  was  prepared  and  sent  by  the  Committee, 
to  every  Protestant  Missionary  Society  known  to 
exist  in  Europe — containing  information  in  regard 
to  missionary  operations  in  our  country  at  large,  and 
more  particularly  in  our  own  Church.  A  series  of 
questions  on  missionary  concerns  was  also  contained 
in  the  letter,  and  answers  were  solicited,  from  which 
it  was  hoped  that  much  useful  information  might  be 
derived,  to  aid  the  Committee  in  the  management  of 
their  important  business.  Due  attention  was  paid  to 
this  letter,  by  the  Societies  to  which  it  was  ad- 
dressed, and  numerous  and  friendly  replies  were  re- 
ceived. Under  the  conduct  of  the  Committee,  the 
Missionary  operations  became  more  and  more  exten- 
sive; and  the  satisfaction  was  enjoyed  of  beholding 
them  constantly  exerting  a  most  benign  influence  on 
the  cause  of  religion.  In  one  year  of  its  existence, 
the  Committee  recommended,  and  the  Assembly 
sanctioned,  fifty  one  missionary  appointments. 

It  ought  to  be  particularly  noted,  that  a  very  zea- 
lous effort  was  made  by  the  Standing  Committee,  to 
establish  regular  missionary  operations  among  the 
unhappy  African  race,  in  the  Southern  section  of 
our  country.  With  this  view,  they  commissioned 
the  Rev.  John  Chavis,  a  man  of  African  descent, 
who  had  previously  been  employed  as  a  missionary 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  21 

among  the  blacks,  by  the  Synod  of  Virginia.  From 
the  General  Assembly,  on  the  recommendation  of 
the  Committee,  he  received,  for  six  years  in  succes- 
sion, missionary  appointments  to  the  people  of  his 
colour,  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  Nor  did  he 
labour  altogether  in  vain.  But  the  most  important 
and  efficient  services,  in  this  field  of.  benevolent  ac- 
tion, were  performed  by  the  late  eminent  and  la- 
mented John  H.  Rice,  D.  D.  For  seven  years,  he 
cheerfully  accepted  a  mission  to  the  black  population 
of  Virginia,  and  laboured  among  them  with  the  most 
exemplary  fidelity  and  happy  success.  The  fruits 
of  his  mission  are  said  to  be  yet  visible,  and  to  be  re- 
membered with  gratitude,  by  a  number  of  those  to 
whom  his  labours  were  blessed. 

But  beside  the  missionaries  commissioned  by  the 
Assembly,  a  considerable  number  were  annually  sent 
forth  by  the  Synods,  who  managed  this  interesting 
concern  separately  from  the  Assembly.  The  Sy- 
nods of  the  Carolinas,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and 
Pittsburgh,  were  distinguished  for  their  zeal  and  effi- 
ciency in  the  missionary  cause.  By  the  missionary 
operations  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  some  of  the  first 
Presbyterian  churches  in  Kentucky  were  formed, 
and  afterwards  supplied  with  the  gospel  ordinances. 
But  of  all  the  Synods,  that  of  Pittsburgh,  was  the 
longest  and  most  extensively  and  efficiently  engaged 
in  sustaining  missions,  both  domestic  and  foreign.  It 
ought  not  to  be  omitted,  that  among  the  other  la- 
bours of  the  Standing  Committee  of  Missions,  was  the 
distribution  of  a  large  number  of  religious  books  and 


22  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

tracts,  and  the  editing  and  publishing  of  a  monthly 
Miscellany  of  fifty  octavo  pages. 

In  a  compendious  view  of  Missions  in  the  Presby- 
terian church,  some  notice  is  due  to  "  The  Western 
Missionary  Society  of  New  Jersey."  It  was  formed 
about  the  year  1800.  Its  organization  indeed,  was 
entirely  independent  of  the  General  Assembly.  But 
it  was  composed  of  members  belonging  to  the  same 
church,  contributed  liberally  to  the  funds  of  the  As- 
sembly, pursued  the  same  objects,  and  was,  for  a 
length  of  time,  active  and  spirited  in  the  execution  of 
its  own  missionary  plans.  Its  operations  ceased,  prin- 
cipally for  the  want  of  funds,  about  four  years  since. 

In  1816,  the  Standing  Committee  of  Missions,  on 
their  own  recommendation,  was  succeeded  by  a 
Board,  which,  by  an  order  of  the  Assembly,  was 
styled  "  The  Board  of  Missions  acting  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States."  The  powers  of  the 
Committee  had  not  extended  beyond  the  nomination 
of  missionaries  to  the  Assembly,  pointing  out  their 
routes  of  travel  or  fields  of  labour,  and  specifying  the 
amount  of  salary  due  to  each.  A  final  action  on  all 
these  points  was  among  the  powers  now  granted  to 
this  Board ;  whose  members  were  not  confined  to 
Philadelphia  and  its  vicinity,  but  were  taken,  in  part, 
from  each  of  the  Synods  composing  the  Assembly — 
to  which  body  an  annual  report  of  all  the  transac- 
tions of  the  preceding  year  was  required  to  be 
made. — The  centre  of  action  was  still  in  Philadel- 
phia.    The  Assembly  "  authorized  and  directed  the 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  23 

Board,  to  take  measures  for  establishing  throughout 
the  churches,  Auxiliary  Missionary  Societies,  and 
recommended  to  their  people  the  establishment  of 
such  societies,  to  aid  the  funds  and  extend  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Board/'  In  carrying  this  order  of  the 
Assembly  into  effect,  the  Board  recommended  the 
formation  of  Auxiliary  Societies  in  every  Presby- 
tery, and  the  formation  of  Missionary  Associations, 
as  far  as  practicable,  in  all  the  congregations  of  each 
Presbytery  ;  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  this  re- 
commendation was  complied  with.  For  a  time,  the 
operations  of  this  Board  were  prosecuted  with  much 
vigour,  and  an  encouraging  success.  And  although 
in  no  year  did  the  Board  commission  as  many  mis- 
sionaries as  had  been  recommended  to  the  Assem- 
bly, in  some  years  of  the  Standing  Committee,  to 
which  it  succeeded,  yet  for  a  series  of  j^ears  its  effi- 
ciency was  great,  in  conveying  widely  the  blessings 
of  the  gospel  to  the  destitute.  It  deserves  especial 
notice,  that  in  almost  every  part  of  our  country,  nu- 
merous infant  churches  were  organized  by  the  tra- 
velling missionaries  of  this  Board,  which  could  not 
otherwise  have  been  formed ;  and  which  afterwards 
furnished  the  opportunity,  so  happily  embraced  by 
other  institutions,  to  afford  assistance,  in  the  support 
of  their  pastors  or  stated  supplies.  But  for  a  consi- 
derable period  before  its  re-organization,  the  Board 
languished  greatly  ;  and  all  its  operations  were  crip- 
pled and  circumscribed  by  the  want  of  funds.  Other 
institutions  came  in  conflict  with  applications  for 
supplies,  from  the  sources  whence  they  had  previ- 


24  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

ously  been  derived.  In  a  word,  it  became  evident, 
that  if  some  effective  measures  were  not  speedily 
taken  to  re-animate  the  Board,  it  would  soon  either 
cease  to  exist,  or  exist  in  nothing  but  in  name. 
Neither  this  Board,  nor  the  Standing  Committee 
which  preceded  it,  had  ever  employed  a  Corres- 
ponding Secretary  and  General  Agent,  nor  appointed 
an  Executive  Committee.  All  their  duties  were 
discharged  by  a  few  of  their  members,  the  clerical 
part  of  whom  were  constantly  occupied,  with  nume- 
rous pastoral  engagements. 


The  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New 
York,  was  formed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  as  near- 
ly as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  ascertain,  in  the 
year  1815  ;  and  was  laudably  active  for  a  number  of 
years,  in  supplying  the  destitute  portions  of  that 
State,  and  to  some  extent,  the  contiguous  parts  of  the 
states  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  with  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  Tlic  last  report  which  they 
made,  while  they  existed  as  a  distinct  organization, 
states  that  in  the  preceding  year  they  had  employed 
nine  missionaries,  whose  labours  had  not  only  been 
highly  acceptable,  but  in  some  instanced  greatly 
blessed. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  25 


NEW  YORK  EVANGELICAL  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

The  New  York  Evangelical  Missionary  Society, 
appears  to  have  been  instituted  about  a  year  (1816) 
subsequently  to  the  one  last  mentioned.  In  the  con- 
clusion of  their  fifth  and  last  annual  report,  in  De- 
cember 1821,  they  say  ^^In  summing  up  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Board,  it  appears  that  they  had  in  their 
employment  the  present  year  ten  missionaries — one 
in  the  state  of  Missouri,  six  in  the  middle  and  loes- 
tern  counties  of  New  York,  one  on  Long  Island, 
and  two  in  the  city  of  New  York.  To  support  these 
operations,  considerable  funds  were  required,  and 
much  has  been  generously  bestowed.'^  The  co- 
loured people  of  New  York  city,  received  a  parti- 
cular attention  from  this  Society,  and  a  coloured  mis- 
sionary whom  they  employed,  appears  to  have  been 
blessed  in  his  ministrations. 

UNITED  DOMESTIC   MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

The  two  Societies  last  mentioned,  as  appears  by 
what  follows,  were  merged  in  "  The  United  Do- 
mestic  Missionary  Society. ^^  This  Society,  says 
an  authentic  document,  "was  organized  on  the  9th  of 
May,  1822,  by  a  Convention  of  delegates  from  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Associations  in  various  parts  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  Soon  after  its  organization  two 
respectable  Domestic  Missionary  Societies  in  this 
city,  (New  York,)  having  twenty-eight  missionaries 
under  their  care,  transferred  their  concerns  to  this  new 
institution."  It  was  only  for  about  four  years,  that 
3 


26  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

this  institution  acted  under  the  name  or  title  which 
it  assumed  at  its  origin.  But  during  this  period,  its 
operations  were  carried  on  with  energy  and  success. 
Many  auxiUary  societies  were  established  ;  and  the 
number  of  missionaries  which  it  employed,  increased 
from  seventy-five  in  the  first  year,  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one,  in  the  year  before  it  changed  its 
name.  The  success  of  its  missionaries,  moreover, 
was  represented  as  most  decisive  and  encouraging. 
The  state  of  New  York,  in  which  the  Society  origi- 
nated, shared  largely,  but  not  exclusively,  in  the  la- 
bours of  its  missionaries.  The  destitution  of  gospel 
ordinances  in  the  newly  formed  States  of  the  west, 
attracted  the  particular  attention  of  the  Society  ;  but 
no  itinerating  missionaries  were  employed.  On  the 
contrary,  they  were  denounced  as  a  nuisance  to  the 
Church  ;  and  the  building  up  of  feeble  churches,  so 
as  to  establish  a  settled  ministry  in  them,  was  avow- 
edly the  exclusive  plan  of  this  Society. 

A  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  different  states  of 
New  England,  was  held  at  Boston,  in  an  early  part 
of  the  year  1826,  at  which  the  formation  of  a  Gene- 
ral Society  for  Domestic  Missions  was  recommended, 
the  seat  of  which  should  be  at  New  York.  Apprised 
of  this,  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  United  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Society,  invited  the  directors  of 
that  Association,  together  with  other  friends  of  mis- 
sions in  the  United  States,  "  to  convene  at  the  session 
room  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  church  in  that  city,  on 
Wednesday,  the  tenth  day  of  Ma}^,  at  eight  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  American 
Home  Missionary  Society.^^     This  Convention  w^as 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  27 

accordingly  held,  at  the  time  designated  ;  and  after 
some  preliminary  proceedings,  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pe- 
ters, Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  United  Domes- 
tic Missionary  Society,  read  a  form  of  a  Constitution, 
which  the  Executive  Committee  had  agreed  to  re- 
commend to  the  Convention  ;"  after  which,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  passed — ^^That  this  Conven- 
tion entirely  approve  of  the  proposed  plan  of  a  Na- 
tional Home  Missionary  Society,  and  that  they  will 
now  proceed  to  consider  the  Constitution  that  has 
been  offered."  After  considering  the  Constitution, 
the  Convention  adopted  the  following  resolutions : 

"  That  this  Convention  approve  the  proposed  Con- 
stitution, and  recommend  to  the  United  Domestic 
Missionary  Society,  to  adopt  the  same,  and  to  be- 
come the  American  Home  Missionary  Society." 

"  That  the  officers  of  this  meeting  be  a  Committee 
of  the  Convention,  to  present  to  the  United  Domes- 
tic Missionary  Society,  a  statement  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  meeting,  'together  with  the  proposed 
Constitution,  and  the  preceding  recommendation  that 
the  same  be  adopted.  On  the  Friday  evening  fol- 
lowing, the  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society, 
met  for  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  as  recom- 
mended by  the  Convention."*  Such  was  the  origin 
of  the 

AMERICAN  HOME  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

This  Society,  consisted,  when  organized,  of  various 
distinct  ecclesiastical  bodies,  or  associations,    three 

*  See  Missionary  Herald  vol.  22,  pp.  161, 191. 


28  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

fourths  of  which  were  not  Presbyterian ;  and  it  ac- 
knowledged no  responsibiUty  to  any  judicatory  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  It  refused,  aUhough  kindly 
invited,  to  co-operate  in  missionary  concerns  with  the 
Assembly's  Board,  but  came  forth  against  it  in  open 
hostility,  and  laboured  for  some  years,  to  thwart  its 
operations  and  destroy  its  influence.  It  was  never 
denied  that  this  Society,  especially  in  the  early  pe- 
riods of  its  existence,  had  in  its  connexion  many  es- 
timable members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  was 
instrumental  in  building  up  and  suppl34ng  with 
pastors,  no  inconsiderable  number  of  feeble  congrega- 
tions in  this  Church,  and  that  on  this  account,  it  for 
a  time  received  the  countenance  of  the  General  As- 
sembly. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  it  became  palpably  evi- 
dent, that  in  every  conflict  in  the  General  Assembly, 
in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  sustain  discipline, 
or  to  maintain  in  their  integrity  the  doctrines  and  go- 
vernment of  the  Church,  the  attempt  was  resisted, 
and  in  general  defeated,  by  the  friends  and  depend- 
ents of  this  Society.  In  a  word,  it  became  notori- 
ous, that  the  unhappy  and  reproachful  distractions  of 
the  Church,  threatening  not  only  its  peace  but  its 
very  existence,  were  attributable,  in  a  great  measure, 
to  the  influence  of  this  institution  ;  in  introducing  as 
pastors,  and  consequently  as  members  of  Presbyte- 
ries, and  ultimately  as  members  of  the  General  As- 
wsembly,  men  of  unsound  theological  opinions,  and 
nearly  always  of  lax  sentiments,  in  regard  to  the  go- 
vernment and  discipline  of  the  Church  ;  and  that,  of 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  29 

course,  peace  and  and  order  could  not  be  restored,  till 
this  evil  should  be  abated.  Under  this  conviction, 
the  General  Assembly  of  1837,  passed  the  following 
resolution. 

"  Besolved,  That  while  we  desire  that  no  body  of 
Christian  men  of  other  denominations,  should  be  pre- 
vented from  choosing  their  own  plans  of  doing  good; 
and  while  we  claim  no  right  to  complain,  should 
they  exceed  us  in  energy  and  zeal — we  believe  that 
facts  too  familiar  to  need  repetition  here,  warrant  us 
in  affirming,  that  the  organization  and  operations  of 
the  so  called  American  Home  Missionary  Society, 
and  American  Education  Society,  and  its  branches  of 
whatever  name,  are  exceedingly  injurious  to  the 
peace  and  purity  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  We 
recommend,  accordingly,  that  they  should  cease  to 
operate  within  our  Churches.'^* 

*Any  Christian  Church  will  be  preponderantly  influenced, 
and  will  eventually  find  all  its  important  measures  moulded 
and  directed,  by  those  who  conduct  the  education,  or  training 
of  its  youth,  for  the  gospel  ministry ;  and  who  possess,  at  the 
same  time,  the  exclusive  management  of  its  domestic  and  fo- 
reign missions.  The  truth  of  this  position  will  not  be  doubted 
by  any  intelligent  person,  who  candidly  and  carefully  considers 
the  nature  of  the  case,  and  who  is  able  and  willing  to  consult 
and  appreciate  the  evidence  derivable  from  observation  and  ex- 
perience. Let  it  then  be  observed,  that  the  American  Educa- 
tion Society,  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  if  their 
views  had  been  carried  into  full  effect,  would  in  fact  have 
conducted,  to  a  great  and  commanding  extent,  if  not  exclusive- 
ly, the  education  or  training  of  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry,  in 
3* 


30  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

As  in  New  York,  so  also  in  Philadelphia,  there 
were  several  Missionary  Societies,  which  were  even- 
tually combined,  and  formed  into  a  single  Institution. 
The   Christian   Advocate   for   the  month  of  April 

the  Presbyterian  church ;  and  would,  at  the  same  time,  have 
directed  all  the  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions  of  that 
Church.  Now,  it  is  known  that  all  these  institutions  are 
without  any  ecclesiastical  organization  or  responsibility  what- 
ever; and  yet,  in  the  case  supposed,  they  would  have  pos- 
sessed a  preponderant  influence  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  have  given  shape  and  direction  to  its  most  important  mea- 
sures.— That  is,  the  management  of  the  concerns  of  this  Church, 
would  have  passed  out  of  the  Church  (not  in  form  but  yet  in 
fact)  into  the  hands  of  secular  institutions — of  secular  institu- 
tions, moreover,  a  majority  of  whose  members,  to  say  the  least, 
had  no  partiality  for  Presbyterian  government,  usages,  or 
creeds.  It  will  not  follow  from  this,  that  those  who  planned 
the  Societies  in  question,  had  hostile  designs  against  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  This,  the  present  writer  neither  affirms  nor 
believes.  Good  men  have  often  formed  plans,  or  acted  a  part, 
the  mischievous  results  of  which  they  did  not  foresee,  or  sus- 
pect to  be  possible — a  truth  abundantly  confirmed  by  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  in  past  ages. 

It  belongs  not  to  the  design  of  this  sketch,  to  speak  directly 
of  other  than  missionary  concerns.  But  it  may  with  truth  be 
remarked,  that  the  education  of  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry, 
is  essentially  connected  with  the  subject  of  Missions.  These 
youth  must,  many  of  them,  be  ultimately  the  missionaries  of 
the  Church.  They  form,  as  it  were,  the  very  elements  of  all 
missionary  operations;  and  every  friend  to  missions,  and  in- 
deed every  enlightened  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
must  regard  its  Board  of  Education  as  intimately  and  directly 
connected  with  all  the  best  interests  of  the  Church,  and  yield 
it  accordingly,  a  cheerful  and  liberal  patronage. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  31 

1826,  contained,  on  this  subject,  the  following  state- 
ment : 

"  Many  years  ago  a  Philadelphia  Missionary  Soci- 
ety was  organized  in  this  city,  to  which  each  annual 
subscriber  paid  five  dollars,  and  each  subscriber  for 
life  fifty  dollars.  For  a  considerable  time,  it  was 
prosperous  and  efficient;  being  able  constantly  to 
support  a  labourer  in  the  metropolis  and  its  vicinity, 
and  sometimes  to  send  missionaries  to  distant  parts 
of  the  commonwealth.  Unhappily,  however,  the 
love  of  novelty,  or  some  cause  less  commendable, 
produced  within  the  last  eight  years,  four  or  five 
other  Presbyterian  Missionary  Societies,  in  the  city 
and  liberties  of  Philadelphia.  This  distracted  the 
minds  of  our  fellow  citizens,  divided  their  resources, 
and  paralized  their  exertions.  These  Societies,  for 
the  most  part,  were  supported  by  the  same  individu- 
als ;  and  consumed  in  their  management  five  hours, 
where  one  would  have  been  sufficient,  had  they  been 
united.  To  produce,  if  possible,  a  better  state  of 
things,  in  the  Presbyterian  portion  of  this  commu- 
nity, two  of  our  Missionary  Societies  resolved  to  be- 
come extinct ;  and  on  the  7th  of  the  present  month, 
a  number  of  gentlemen  of  this  city  resolved  to  co- 
operate with  each  other,  in  an  association  which  is 
called 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY. 

"  More  than  nine  hundred  dollars,  stipulated  to  be 
paid  annually  were,  at  once  subscribed,  by  fourteen 


32  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

individuals,  and  the  subscriptions  of  a  few  other  per- 
sons since,  have  made  the  annual  income  of  the  So- 
ciety already  exceed  one  thousand  dollars.  This, 
we  trust,  will  prove  but  a  good  beginning  ;  and  we 
earnestly  entreat  our  Christian  friends,  and  es- 
pecially the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  throughout  the  State,  to  unite  with 
us  ;  and  not  to  relax  their  exertions,  until  every 
vacant  congregation  in  Pennsylvania  has  a  well  in- 
formed and  faithful  pastor;  and  every  town  and 
village  a  dwelling  place  for  the  Most  High.  The 
object  of  this  Society  is,  to  employ  regular  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  or  licentiates  of  the  Presbyterian  or 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  the  United  States,  to 
preach  among  the  destitute  in  this  city  and  State  ; 
and  when  their  funds  will  allow,  to  assist  infant 
churches  in  this  and  neighbouring  States,  in  main- 
taining the  stated  ministrations  of  the  word  and 
other  ordinances  of  Christ.  *  *  *  *  Every  benevo- 
lent heart  must  wish  success  to  this  newly  organized 
Society,  which  seems  destined  particularly  to  pro- 
mote the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Presbyterian  por- 
tion of  this  Commonwealth.  The  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  in  this  country  is  in  all  respects  Presbyte- 
rian, in  its  creed  and  character ;  and  therefore  the 
two  denominations  united  in  this  laudable  enterprize, 
can  harmonize  in  their  operations." 

This  Society  was  zealous,  active,  and  successful, 
in  prosecuting  the  objects  for  wliich  it  was  institu- 
ted. But  it  did  not  long  continue  its  operations  ; 
for    after    the    re-organization    of   the    Assembly's 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  33 

Board  of  Missions,  it  was  seen  that  the  very  pur- 
poses for  which  the  Society  had  been  formed,  were 
embraced  in  the  plan  of  that  Board  ;  and  therefore 
that  the  continuance  of  the  Society  would  be  rather 
injurious  than  useful. 

Thus  it  appears,  that  while  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society  absorbed  all  the  small  domestic 
institutions  of  a  missionary  character,  within  the 
scope  of  its  influence,  the  same  effect  was  produced, 
on  similar  institutions  of  a  strictly  Presbyterian  cha- 
racter, in  the  vicinity  of  the  Missionary  Board  of 
the  General  Assembly.  The  friends  of  these  two 
large  and  commanding  bodies,  threw  their  funds  and 
their  influence  into  the  one  or  the  other  of  them,  ac- 
cording as  they  were  led  by  their  predilections  or 
their  sense  of  duty. 

In  182S  a  printed  Overture,  signed  by  three  cler- 
gymen and  two  laymen,  was  introduced  into  the  As- 
sembly, through  the  Committee  of  Overtures,  pro- 
posing and  urging  a  new  organization  of  the  Board 
of  Missions.  After  an  ardent  and  protracted  debate, 
occasioned  by  opposition  to  the  Overture  by  the 
friends  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  the  As- 
sembly resolved,  "  That  the  Board  of  Missions  al- 
ready have  the  power  to  establish  Missions,  not  only 
among  the  destitute  of  our  own  country,  or  any 
other  country,  but  also  among  the  heathen  in  any 
part  of  the  world ;  to  select,  appoint,  and  commis- 
sion missionaries;  to  determine  their  salaries,  and 
to  settle  and  pay  their  accounts ;  that  they  have  full 
authority  to  correspond  with  any  other  body  on  the 


34  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

subject  of  missions  ;  to  appoint  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  an  efficient  Agent  or  agents,  to  manage 
their  missionary  concerns ;  to  take  measures  to  form 
auxiliary  societies,  on  such  terms  as  they  may  deem 
proper ;  to  procure  funds,  and  in  general  to  manage 
the  missionary  operations  of  the  General  Assembly. 
It  is  therefore  submitted  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  to  consider  whether  it  is  expe- 
dient for  them  to  carry  into  effect  the  full  powers 
which  they  possess." 

No  time  was  lost,  after  the  rising  of  the  Assem- 
bly, in  re-organizing 

THE  BOARD    OF    MISSIONS    OF   THE    GENERAL    ASSEM- 
BLY   OF    THE     PllESBrTERIAN   CHURCH. 

At  the  fu'st  meeting  of  this  Board,  an  Executive 
Committee  was  appointed,  a  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary and  General  Agent  was  chosen,  and  the  per- 
formance of  the  various  duties  of  the  Board  was 
entered  on,  with  spirit  and  energy.*  For  several 
years  it  had  to  contend,  as  already  stated,  with  open 
and  active  opposition,  from  a  rival  institution.  But 
its  onward  progress  has  been  constant  and  cheering; 

*  The  manner  in  which  the  plans  of  this  Board  have  been, 
and  still  are,  carried  into  effect,  through  the  agency  and  co- 
operation of  Presbyteries  and  Sessions,  and  indeed  the  whole 
detail  of  its  proceedings,  are  so  well  known  throughout  the 
Presbyterian  church,  that  it  seemed  not  only  unnecessary,  but 
improper,  to  make  a  particular  statement  of  them  in  this  com- 
pendious view. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  35 

till  by  its  report  to  the  General  Assembly  in  May, 
1837,  it  appears  that  in  the  preceding  year,  the  Mis- 
sionary Fund  had  amounted  to  nearly  thirty-one. 
thousand  dollars  ;  that  the  number  of  missionaries 
and  agents  employed,  had  been  tivo  hundred  and 
seventy -five;  that  several  missionaries  had  been  sent 
to  places  where  no  churches  or  congregations  had 
been  previously  organized  ;  that  their  missionaries 
had  laboured  in  twenty  of  the  States  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union,  and  that  the  amount  of  ministerial  labour 
performed,  had  been  equal  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  years ;  that  the  number  of  members 
added  to  the  churches  under  the  care  of  the  mission- 
aries, by  examination  and  certificate,  had  been  two 
thousand,  six  hundred  and  sixty;  that  eighteen 
new  churches  had  been  organized,  and  about  sixty 
houses  for  public  worship  erected ;  that  the  num- 
ber of  Sabbath  Schools  that  had  been  formed  was 
a  little  short  oi  five  hundred,  in  which  were  em- 
ployed two  thousand  eight  hundred  teachers,  and 
twelve  thousand  scholars;  that  two  hundred  and 
fifty  Bible  Classes  had  been  reported,  containing 
more  than  five  thousand  learners  ;  that  the  number 
of  Temperance  Societies  reported  had  been  about 
three  hundred  and  eighty,  containing ybr/y  thou- 
sand members;  that  beside  the  monthly  Concert, 
four  hundred  weekly  prayer  meetings  had  been 
established,  one  hundred  and  twenty  Bible  Socie- 
ties, sixty-eight  Tract  Societies,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  Missionary  Societies,  and  Societies  for  pro- 


36  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  ] 

moting  other  benevolent  operations  in  similar  pro-       \ 
portion.  j 

Domestic   Missions   in  the   Presbyterian  church       ' 
may  now  be  considered  as  systematically  and  perma- 
nently established,  and  under  the  continued  blessing 
of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  with  every  pros- 
pect of  extensive  and  increasing  usefulness.  ] 


(37) 


FOREIGN  OR  HEATHEN  MISSIONS. 


As  already  stated,  Heathen  Missions,  in  the  in- 
fancy of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  were  impracti- 
cable. It  was  with  difficulty,  and  principally  by  their 
own  labour  and  management,  that  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel  obtained  a  bare  subsistence,  for  themselves 
and  their  families.  The  heathen  in  their  neighbour- 
hoods lived  by  the  chase  and  led  an  unsettled  life ; 
so  that  without  some  pecuniary  aid,  derived  from  a 
foreign  source,  a  missionary  could  not  exist  among 
them — if  indeed  a  missionary  to  them  ought,  in  any 
event,  to  have  been  employed,  when  on  all  sides  their 
own  countrymen  were  perishing  for  lack  of  know- 
ledge. Early,  however,  they  found  the  means  and 
the  men  for  the  prosecution  of  Heathen  Missions. 
The  Church  of  Scotland  was  their  mother  Church ; 
and  to  her  they  looked,  to  enable  them  to  send  the 
Gospel  to  the  pagans  of  the  wilderness.  "  The  So- 
ciety in  Scotland  for  propagating  Christian  know- 
ledge" was  instituted,  in  Edinburgh,  in  1709.  This 
Society,  in  1741,  established  a  Board  of  Correspon- 
dents in  New  York,  who,  on  proper  recommenda- 
tion, appointed  the  Rev.  Azariah  Horton,  a  member 
of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  to  labour  as  a  mis- 
sionary on  Long  Island,  where  a  large  number  of 
4 


38  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

Indians  then  resided.  This  was  the  first  formal 
heathen  mission,  instituted  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Whatever  Christian  instruction  had  been 
previously  given  by  Presbyterian  ministers  to  the 
natives  of  the  forest,  had  been  imparted  to  such  as 
were  found  willing  to  receive  it,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  settled  pastors.  Mr.  Horton  received  from 
Scotland  a  salary  of  forty  pounds  sterling  per  an- 
num; and  he  chose  for  his  assistant  and  interpreter  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Miranda,  an  Indian,  and  for- 
merly a  trader,  but  who  had  for  some  time  laboured 
to  instruct  the  Delaware  and  Susquehannah  Indians. 
Mr.  Horton's  interpreter  died,  not  long  after  his  ap- 
pointment, but  the  mission  was  still  prosecuted  by 
himself;  and  at  the  East  end  of  the  Island,  where 
the  greatest  number  of  Indians  were  found,  his  suc- 
cess, for  a  time,  was  highly  encouraging.  A  gene- 
ral reformation  of  manners  speedily  appeared,  and 
several  gave  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  saving  con- 
version ;  a  number  were  taught  to  read,  and  in 
two  or  three  years,  he  had  baptized  forty-five 
adults,  and  forty-four  children.  The  introduction 
of  spirituous  liquors,  the  banc  of  the  Indians,  had  an 
unhappy  influence,  in  arresting  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  among  them.  Yet  it  appears,  that  so  late  as 
17S8,  the  Indians  in  those  places  where  Mr.  Horton 
laboured  were  still  religiously  disposed,  had  two 
preachers  among  them,  both  Indians,  who  were  well 
esteemed;  and  that  a  num])cr  of  individuals  were 
then  in  the  full  communion  of  tlie  church. 

The    second   Presbyterian   missionary   to   the  In- 


PRESBYTERIAN    3IISSI0NS.  39 

dians  was  the  justly  celebrated  David  Brainerd. 
He  also  received  a  salary  from  the  same  Society  in 
Scotland,  by  which  Mr.  Horton  had  been  supported. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  an  association  of  Con- 
gregational ministers,  convened  at  Danbury  in  Con- 
necticut, July  29  1742;  and  in  the  character  of  a 
licentiate,  spent  about  a  year  in  missionary  labour, 
at  an  Indian  settlement  called  Kaunaumeek,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Albany,  in  the  Province  of 
New  York.  Here  his  success  was  not  encourag- 
ing, and  his  sufferings,  both  mental  and  bodily, 
were  extreme.  Inflexibly  determined,  however,  to 
devote  his  life  to  the  evangelizing  of  the  Heathen, 
he  refused  a  pressing  invitation  to  a  very  advantage- 
ous settlement,  in  an  English  congregation  on  Long 
Island.  He  was  ordained  as  a  missionary  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  at  Newark  in  New  Jer- 
sey, June  12th  1744.  From  this  time  to  his  death, 
(October  9th  1747)  he  was  a  member  both  of  the 
Presbytery  and  Synod  of  New  York,  and  attended 
all  their  meetings,  unless  prevented  by  sickness,  or 
by  his  missionary  engagements.  Immediately  after 
his  ordination,  his  attention  was  directed  to  three 
collections,  or  bodies  of  Indians,  considerably  re- 
mote from  each  other  ;  namely,  to  those  located  at 
the  forks  of  the  Delaware  river,  in  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  those  on  the  borders  of  the  Sus- 
quehannah  river,  in  the  same  Province,  and  to  those 
who  resided  at  a  place,  the  Indian  name  of  which 
was  Crosweeksung,  called  by  the  English  Cros- 
weeks,  near   the    centre  of  the   Province  of  New 


40  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

Jersey,  and  from  eighteen  to  twenty  miles  to  the 
South  of  New  Brunswick.  He  spent  the  most  of 
his  time  at  the  first  and  last  mentioned  of  these 
places ;  although  he  made  no  less  than  four  visits 
to  the  borderers  on  the  Susquehannah,  encountering 
dangers,  privations,  and  sufferings,  of  the  most  appal- 
ling kind;  and  by  his  last  visit  increasing  greatly  a 
tendency  to  a  consumption  of  the  lungs,  which  ter- 
minated his  life,  in  about  a  year  after  his  return. 

Of  the  three  fields  of  missionary  labour,  in  which 
Mr.  Brainerd  was  employed  after  his  ordination, 
Crosweeksung  was  that  in  which  he  reaped,  almost 
exclusively,  the  harvest  of  his  success.  On  the  pa- 
gans of  the  Susquehannah  he  made  but  little  impres- 
sion. Among  those  at  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware, 
his  interpreter,  with  his  wife,  were  the  only  indi- 
viduals who  gave  evidence  of  a  sound  conversion  ; 
although  an  external  reformation  of  manners  was 
visible,  in  a  considerable  number.  But  at  Cros- 
weeksung his  success  was  perhaps  without  a  paral- 
lel, in  heathen  missions,  since  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles. For  his  exertions  were  made  single  handed; 
he  had  no  fellow  labourer,  beyond  a  little  occasional 
assistance,  from  two  or  three  neighbouring  brethren 
in  the  ministry.  In  opposition  to  discouragements 
which  would  have  subdued  any  ordinary  mind,  and 
which  went  near  to  vanquish  his  own,  he  long  per- 
severed, with  no  prospect  of  obtaining  the  object  of 
his  wishes  and  his  agonizing  prayers,  in  the  conver- 
sion of  those  to  whom  he  ministered.  "  I  do  not 
know''  he  says  in   his  journal,  "  that  my  hopes  re- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  41 

specting  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  were  ever 
reduced  to  so  low  an  ebb,  since  I  had  any  concern 
for  them,  as  when  I  first  visited  the  Indians  at  Cros- 
weeksung.  Yet  this  was  the  very  season  in  which 
God  saw  fit  to  begin  this  glorious  work. "  A  glori- 
ous work  it  pre-eminently  was.  His  own  summary 
account  of  it  is  in  these  words  : 

"  June  19th,  1746.  This  day  makes  up  a  complete 
year,  from  the  first  time  of  my  preaching  to  these 
Indians  in  New  Jersey.  What  amazing  things  has 
God  wrought,  in  this  space  of  time,  for  this  people  I 
What  a  surprising  change  appears  in  their  tempers 
and  behaviour !  How  are  morose  and  savage  pagans, 
in  this  short  period,  transformed  into  agreeable,  af- 
fectionate, and  humble  Christians !  and  their  drunken 
and  pagan  bowlings  turned  into  devout  and  fer- 
vent praises  to  God  !  They  '  who  were  sometimes  in 
darkness  are  now  become  light  in  the  Lord.'  May 
they  ^walk  as  children  of  the  light  and  of  the  day!' 
And  now,  to  Him  that  is  of  power  to  establish  them, 
according  to  the  Gospel  and  the  preaching  of  Christ, 
to  God  only  wise,  be  glory,  through  Jesus  Christ, 
for  ever  and  ever.    Amen." 

Mr.  Brainerd  soon  became  sensible,  that  the  Gos- 
pel could  not  be  permanently  established  among  his 
Indian  converts,  unless  he  could  prevail  on  them  to 
abandon  their  wandering  life  as  hunters,  and  rely  for 
their  subsistance  on  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  He 
therefore  advised  them — and  they  unanimously  re- 
solved to  follow  his  advice^ — to  form  a  compact  set- 
tlement by  themselves,  and  to   become  agricultur- 


42  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

ists.  But  for  this  undertaking,  their  residence  at 
Crosweeksung  was  unfavourable,  as  the  soil,  though 
covered  with  bushes,  was  entirely  unfit  for  cultiva- 
tion. But  the  territory  which  they  had  not  yet 
ceded  to  the  English,  was  of  considerable  extent; 
and  at  the  distance  of  about  fifteen  miles,  at  a  place 
called  Cranberry,  they  possessed  a  large  tract  of 
land,  favourable  to  agricultural  operations.  Hither, 
therefore,  they  removed ;  formed  a  settlement  with- 
out any  mixture  with  the  white  population,  and 
under  the  direction  and  instruction  of  their  mis- 
sionary, who  had  to  take  personally  the  charge  of 
every  concern,  they  entered  on  the  business  of  farm- 
ing. They  were  organized  into  a  regular  church  of 
about  forty  communicating  members ;  the  whole 
number  that  removed  being  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  A  very  prosperous  school  of  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  children,  and  which  was  eventually 
enlarged  to  fifty,  was  likewise  established,  under  the 
instruction  of  an  excellent  master,  whom  Mr.  Brain- 
erd  obtained  for  them,  and  for  whose  support  he 
solicited  donations.  Some  adults  were  also  tau2;ht 
to  read,  in  an  evening  school,  opened  for  their 
accommodation.  It  was  in  this  manner  that  JMr. 
Brainerd  hoped  he  had  provided  for  the  perpetua- 
ting of  Gospel  ordinances,  not  only  among  the  In- 
dians already  christianized,  but  also  for  their  de- 
scendants, lie  erected  among  them  a  house  for  his 
own  residence,  in  the  building  of  which  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  labour  was  performed  by  himself — 
This  was  the  fourth  structure  which,  at  his  differ- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  43 

ent  missionary  stations,  he  had  built  for  the  same 
purjDOse,  and  mostly  with  his  own  hands.  Scarcely 
was  he  settled  in  his  new  abode,  when  his  con- 
sumptive complaint  compelled  him  to  abandon  both 
it  and  his  beloved  charge.  After  being  confined 
at  Elizabethtown,  in  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Jona- 
than Dickinson,  for  about  four  months,  he  acquired 
strength  enough  to  return,  and  bid  a  final  farewell  to 
his  congregation  of  heathen  converts,  on  the  ISth  of 
February  1747.  He  died,  as  already  stated,  on  the 
9th  of  the  following  October,  in  the  30th  year  of  his 
age,  the  half  of  this  year  not  being  completed.  A 
very  short  time  before  his  death,  he  was  visited  by 
his  brother  and  successor,  John  Brainerd,  and  was 
comforted  by  the  prospect,  that  in  him  his  bereaved 
flock  would  still  be  under  the  care  of  a  faithful,  able, 
and  afiectionate  pastor. 

The  Rev.  John  Brainerd  was  a  member  both  of 
the  Synod  and  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.  For 
several  years  he  w^as  successful  in  sustaining,  and 
in  somewhat  enlarging,  the  Indian  congregation  and 
school,  which  his  brother  had  organized.  During  a 
period  in  whiah  his  labours  among  the  Indians  at 
Cranberry  were  suspended,  by  several  journeys 
which  he  made  to  those  on  the  Susquehannah, 
and  by  other  causes,  his  place  was  well  supplied 
by  the  Rev.  William  Tennent,  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Brunswick,  whose  pastoral  charge  was  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cranberry.  Mr.  John  Brainerd, 
as  well  as  his  brother,  held  a  correspondence  with 
the  Society  in  Scotland  for  the  promotion  of  Chris- 


44  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

tian  knowledge ;  but  he  was  supported  principally, 
if  not  wholly,  by  funds  derived  from  the  contribu- 
tions of  Presbyterian  congregations  in  America. 
Such  was  certainly  the  fact;  after  the  commencement 
of  our  Revolutionary  war.  The  Synod  had  previ- 
ously allowed  him  a  salary  of  thirty  pounds  per  an- 
num;  and  in  1763  they  ordered  a  collection  to  be 
taken  up  in  all  their  congregations,  for  the  support 
of  the  Indian  Mission.  To  the  schoolmaster  they 
awarded,  for  that  year,  an  allowance  of  thirty 
pounds.  They  also  voted  sixty-five  pounds,  for 
the  support  of  the  Rev.  Sampson  Occum,  a  native 
Indian,  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Suffolk,  on 
Long  Island,  and  at  that  time  a  missionary  among 
the  Oneida  Indians.  He  was  afterwards  employed, 
for  many  years,  among  various  tribes  of  his  race. 

The  converts  from  paganism  who  were  gathered 
into  the  Christian  Church  by  the  Brainerds,  appear 
to  have  maintained,  with  very  few  exceptions,  a 
character  for  vital  piety  and  exemplary  deportment, 
through  the  whole  of  their  subsequent  life  ;  and 
some  are  represented  as  having  died  in  the  triumph- 
ant hope  of  the  Gospel.  But  from  jl  variety  of 
causes  Avhich  cannot  now  be  specified,  but  chiefly 
from  being  deprived  of  their  lands  by  the  fraud  and 
cupidity  of  the  white  inhabitants,  their  numbers 
were  greatly  reduced.*  In  1802,  some  commis- 
sioners  from    New    Jersey,   conducted    eighty-five 

*  The  following  statement  is  taken  from  Brown's  History  of 
Missions,  vol.  i.  p.  136. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  45 

Delaware  Indians,  the  remainder  of  Mr.  John  Brain- 
erd's  congregation,  to  New  Stockbridge,  to  place 
them  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Sergeant,  the  mis- 
sionary in  that  town  ;  and  it  was  then  stated  that 
after  Mr.  Brainerd's  death  (in  1780)  they  were  left 
alone,  having  no  spiritual  shepherd  to  watch  over 
them,  no  meetings  for  divine  worship  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  no  school  for  their  children.  We  only 
add  that  the  remnant  left,  seem  to  have  lost  all  sense 
of  religion;  and  it  is  believed  have  now  become 
nearly,  if  not  altogether  extinct — the  common  fate  of 
Indians  when  surrounded  by  a  white  population. 

In  the  year  1766,  the  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  and  the 
Rev.  George  Duffield,  performed  a  mission,  by  the 
appointment  of  the  Synod,  among  the  Indians  on 
the  Muskingum  river,  in  what  is  now  the  state  of 
Ohio,  but  which  was  then  a  howling  wilderness. 
An  account  of  this  mission  was  published  in  a 
printed  pamphlet ;  and  the  representation  made 
was  so  favourable,  that  in  the  following  year  the 
Synod  appointed  two  other  missionaries  to  the  same 
region ;  but  owing  to  unfavourable  reports  of  the 
state  of  things  among  the  Indians  and  the  frontier 
inhabitants,  this  mission  was  not  fulfilled ;  and  no 
farther  attempts  were  made  to  evangelize  the  hea- 
then in  that  quarter. 

THE     NEW     YORK    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY. 

In  1796,  the  New  York  Missionary  Society  was 
organized,  consisting  principally  of  members  of  the 


46  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

Presbyterian  Church.  It  owed  its  origin  to  the  mis- 
sionary zeal  excited  by  the  accounts  then  recently 
received  in  this  country,  of  the  institution,  animated 
exertions,  and  flattering  prospects,  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society.  The  present  writer  can  state 
from  a  distinct  recollection  of  his  feelings  and  lan- 
guage at  the  period  now  referred  to,  that  although 
he  highly  approved  the  zeal  of  the  founders  of  this 
Society,  and  was  perfectly  willing  that  they  should 
prosecute  their  own  views  of  duty,  yet  for  himself 
he  saw  no  need  of  any  new  organization,  for  mis- 
sionary operations  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He 
thought  the  zeal  now  awakened  should  be  cherish- 
ed, and  be  carried  into  the  General  Assembly  of 
our  Church ;  that  in  this  body  we  already  had  an 
organization,  than  which  none  could  be  devised 
better  adapted  to  the  prosecution  of  foreign  as  well 
as  domestic  missions ;  in  a  word,  it  was  his  opinion, 
that  every  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
should  use  his  influence,  and  all  his  means,  for  evan- 
gelizing the  heathen,  through  the  agency  of  the  Su- 
preme Judicatory  of  our  Church.  How  far  these 
sentiments  prevailed  is  not  known ;  but  it  was  only 
in  the  northern  section  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
that  societies,  similar  to  that  now  under  considera- 
tion, were  at  that  time  patronized.  The  members  of 
this  Society,  however,  though  not  very  numerous, 
proceeded  with  a  laudable  spirit  and  activity  in  the 
execution  of  their  plans.  They  collected  funds  to  a 
considerable  amount ;  and  under  their  patronage  one 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  47 

of  their  missionaries,  with  his  son  as  a  school  mas- 
ter^ formed  a.  missionary  establishment  among  the 
Chickasaw  Indians,  w^hich  for  a  time  prospered, 
and  promised  to  be  permanent.  No  less  than  eigh- 
teen individuals  went  out  with  this  mission,  and 
contributed  in  various  ways,  to  carry  its  design  into 
effect.  The  Society  also  established  two  Indian  mis- 
sions in  the  state  of  New  York ;  one  in  the  Tusca- 
rora,  and  the  other  in  the  Seneca  tribe.  Both  these 
missions,  especially  the  latter,  appear  to  have  pros- 
pered ;  and  to  have  been  happily  instrumental  in 
gathering  a  number  of  the  heathen,  as  hopeful  con- 
vert, into  the  Christian  Church.  In  the  year  1821, 
they  transferred  all  their  missions  to  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

THE    NORTHERN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY. 

In  1797,  the  Northern  Missionary  Society  was  in- 
stituted. Why  a  distinct  society  was  so  soon  form- 
ed, in  the  neighbourhood  of  that  last  mentioned,  and 
what  was  the  proportion  of  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  which  it  embodied,  is  unknown  to  the 
present  writer.  Commendable  exertions,  however, 
were  made  by  this  institution,  to  promote  Indian 
missions.  The  Society  obtained  considerable  funds, 
and  the  Indians  themselves  made  it  a  valuable  do- 
nation of  land.  In  the  circular  letter  sent  in  1802, 
by  the  Standing  Committee  of  Missions,  to  the  mis- 
sionary establishments  of  Europe,  it  is  stated,  that 


48  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

this  Society  had  then  "  made  preparations  for  send- 
ing a  minister  of  the  Gospel  and  a  school  master, 
to  the  Oneida  nation  of  Indians."  It  also  appears 
that  it  had  a  mission  located  at  Fort  Gratiot,  which 
was  assumed  by  the  United  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  in  1823,  and  transferred  to  the  American 
Board  in  1826  ;  at  which  time,  it  employed  one 
male  and  two  female  teachers,  and  had  established 
a  school,  containing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  Indian 
children. 

In  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Chapman,  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  north-western  frontier  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  in  the  year  1800,  the  General  Assembly 
had  a  reference,  not  only  to  the  wants  of  the  white 
population,  but  to  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  for  whom  their  sympathy  was  deeply 
enlisted.  Hence,  in  the  circular  letter  addressed  to 
the  Presbyteries  by  the  Standing  Committee,  in 
1802,  the  following  passage  appeared,  "  Mission- 
aries for  the  Indians  is  a  great  desideratum  with  the 
Assembly.  The  hope  of  contributing  to  send  the 
Gospel  to  the  heathen  tribes,  prompted  the  liberality 
of  many  who  have  contributed  most  largely  to  the 
funds  which  the  Assembly  have  at  command  ;  and  it 
was  with  the  deepest  regret,  that  the  last  Assembly 
found  that  they  had  not  a  single  candidate  for  an  In- 
dian mission.  If  your  Presbytery  can  nominate  one 
who  is  well  qualified,  it  will  be  an  important  acqui- 
sition." 

The  next  year  (1803)  the  desideratum  of  the  As- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  49 

sembly  was  obtained.     The  Rev.  Gideon  Blackburn 
was   found  willing   to  engage  in  a 


MISSION    TO    THE     CHEROKEE    INDIANS. 

Mr.  Blackburn  was  accordingly  recommended 
by  the  Committee,  and  appointed  by  the  Assem- 
bly. With  great  zeal,  activity,  and  devotedness, 
he  prosecuted  his  missionary  undertaking  for  eight 
years.  But  the  failure  of  his  health  (in  1810), 
and  a  necessary  removal  of  his  family  to  a  greater 
distance  from  the  field  of  missionary  labour,  com- 
pelled him  to  retire,  when  he  seemed  to  be  on  the 
point  of  reaping  the  fruits  of  his  toils  and  sufferings. 
This  was  a  subject  of  great  regret  to  the  Commit- 
tee, to  the  Assembly,  and  to  many  others,  who  had 
taken  a  lively  interest  in  this  promising  mission. 

Mr.  Blackburn's  efforts  were  principally  directed 
to  the  establishment  of  schools  among  the  Cherokees. 
By  these  schools  he  hoped  to  promote  their  civiliza- 
tion, to  prepare  them  for  an  advantageous  hearing  of 
the  Gospel  in  public  preaching,  and  for  a  permanent 
enjoyment  of  its  ordinances.  He  also  had  it  in  view 
to  qualify  the  Indian  youth,  not  only  for  the  duties 
of  secular  life,  but  for  ministerial  usefulness,  when, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  any  of  them  should  become 
practically  pious.  Two  flourishing  schools  were  es- 
tablished; for  the  support  of  one  of  which,  he  made 
himself  personally  and  exclusively  responsible.  For 
sustaining  the  other,  the  annual  allowance  made  by 
the  Assembly,  for  several  years,  was  five  hundred 
5 


50  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

dollars;  and  to  this,  in  one  year,  an  addition  of  three 
hundred  dollars,  was  made  by  the  New  Jersey  Mis- 
sionary Society.  Not  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars 
were  expended  on  this  mission ;  more  than  half  of 
which  was  obtained  by  Mr.  Blackburn  himself,  in  do- 
nations and  contributions  which  he  received,  chiefly 
in  a  journey  which  he  made  for  the  purpose  through 
the  New  England  states.  The  amount  of  his  receipts, 
as  stated  by  himself,  was  five  thousand  three  hundred 
forty-seven  dollars  and  ninety  cents. 

The  ability,  assiduity,  and  fidelity  of  Mr.  Black- 
burn in  his  missionary  employment,  not  only  among 
the  Indians,  but  in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  white 
population  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cherokee  country, 
was  attested  by  the  Governor  of  the  state  of  Tennes- 
see, by  other  respectable  individuals,  and  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Union.  The  rapid  improvement  of 
the  youth  in  his  Indian  schools,  was  truly  surpri- 
sing. The  specimens  of  their  hand  writing,  and  of 
some  articles  of  their  manufacture,  which  were  trans- 
mitted to  the  Committee,  manifested  a  progress  in 
improvement  of  the  most  promising  kind.  In  1806, 
there  were  in  the  two  schools,  seventy-five  scholars, 
whose  proficiency  in  reading,  writing,  and  aritbmetic, 
exceeded  the  most  sanguine  expectations  which  had 
previously  been  entertained.  But  the  improvement 
of  the  Cherokces,  during  the  mission  of  Mr.  Black- 
burn, was  not  confined  to  the  schools.  The  Indians 
in  general,  made  no  inconsiderable  progress  in  many 
of  the  common  and  most  useful  arts  of  life.  They 
assumed,  to  a  great  extent,  not  only  the  habits,  but 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  51 

even  the  form  of  Government,  of  a  civilized  nation. 
At  a  kind  of  national  meeting,  they  formed  a  Consti- 
tution, chose  a  legislative  body,  and  passed  a  number 
of  laws,  among  which  was  an  act  imposing  taxes  for 
public  purposes.* 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Standing  Committee  of 
Missions  of  the  Assembly,  to  prosecute  the  Chero- 
kee Mission ;  but  v/hile  they  were  looking  for  mis- 
sionaries  possessing   suitable    qualifications   for   the 

*  In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Blackburn,  of  January  5,  1810,  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  statement  of  tiie  progress  of  the  Cherokee 
Indians,  towards  a  state  of  civilization,  was  contained :  "  In  the 
nation  there  are  twelve  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-five 
Indians.  The  number  of  females  exceeds  that  of  the  males,  by 
two  hundred.  The  whites  in  the  nation  are  three  hundred  and 
forty-one.  Of  these,  there  are  one  hundred  and  thirteen  who  have 
Indian  wives.  Of  Negro  slaves  there  are  five  hundred  and  eigh- 
ty-three. The  number  of  their  cattle  is  nineteen  thousand  five 
hundred;  of  their  horses  six  thousand  one  hundred;  of  their 
hogs  nineteen  thousand  six  hundred;  of  their  sheep  one  thou- 
sand thirty-seven.  They  have  now  in  actual  operation  thir- 
teen grist-mills,  three  saw  mills,  three  salt-petre  works,  and 
one  powder  mill.  They  have  fifty  wagons;  between  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  and  five  hundred  ploughs ;  one  thousand  six 
hundred  spinning  wheels;  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  looms, 
and  forty-nine  silver  smiths. 

"  Circulating  specie  is  supposed  to  be  as  plenty  among  them 
as  is  common  among  the  white  people.  Most  of  these  advanta- 
ges they  have  acquired  since  the  year  1796,  and  particularly 
since  1803."  There  is  a  more  extended  detail,  accompanied 
by  calculations,  which  we  have  not  room  to  insert ;  but  it  may 
be  seen,  in  the  appendix  to  Brown's  1st  volume  of  the  History 
of  Missions,  page  505, 


52 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 


work,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kingsbury,  acting  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  passed  through  Philadelphia,  to 
occupy  the  field  in  which  the  missionaries  of  the 
General  Assembly  had  been  labouring  for  eight 
years.  When  Mr.  Kingsbury  waited  on  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Standing  Committee,  to  know  if  there 
was  any  objection  to  his  mission  to  the  Cherokees, 
he  was  informed  that  the  Committee  could  not  object 
to  his  labouring  for  the  benefit  of  that  benighted  peo- 
ple ;  but  at  the  same  time,  he  was  distinctly  apprized 
of  their  design  to  resume  the  mission,  so  soon  as 
Providence  should  be  pleased  to  furnish  them  with 
suitable  missionaries.  The  subsequent  success  of  the 
missionaries  of  the  American  Board,  in  this  "  line  of 
things  made  ready  to  their  hand,"  was  most  happy ; 
and  rendered  unnecessary  any  farther  efforts  of  the 
Standing  Committee,  to  prosecute  a  mission  in  the 
Cherokee  country. 

A    MISSION    AMONG    THE    WYANDOT    INDIANS, 

In  1805,  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  General 
Assembly  received  a  letter  (dated  October  23,  of  that 
year)  from  the  Secretary  of  "  The  Board  of  Trust 
of  the  Western  Missionary  Society,"  composed  of 
members,  and  acting  under  the  direction,  of  the  Sy- 
nod of  Pittsburgh,  and  chartered  by  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania,  requesting  pecuniary  aid  in  establish- 
ing a  mission  among  the  Wyandot  Indians.  The 
Committee  could  not  act  ofTicially  in  answer  to  the 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  53 

request  of  the  Board  of  Trust,  till  authorized  so  to 
do  by  the  General  Assembly  ;  but  one  of  their  mem- 
bers immediately  made  them  a  donation  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  the  Assembly  of  the  following  year 
appropriated  four  hundred  dollars  to  their  funds. 
The  same  sum  was  awarded  to  them  annually,  for 
several  years  in  succession.  Sandusky  in  the  state 
of  Ohio,  was  selected  by  the  Board,  for  the  loca- 
tion of  their  missionary  establishment.  Their  ulti- 
mate design  was  to  evangelize  the  savages ;  but  to 
facilitate  the  attainment  of  this  great  object,  they  or- 
ganized a  school  for  the  instruction  of  their  children, 
whom  they  both  fed  and  clothed.  They  also  pro- 
cured land,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting,  by  its  cul- 
tivation, in  the  support  of  the  establishment ;  as  well 
as  to  instruct  and  engage  the  Indians  in  the  business 
of  farming.  On  the  farm,  they  erected  the  neces- 
sary buildings,  and  the  school  consisted  of  from  thir- 
ty to  forty  pupils.  This  mission  was  going  on  in  a 
very  prosperous  way,  till  the  war  of  1812  ;  when 
the  buildings  having  been  burned,  and  the  improve- 
ments destroyed  by  the  enemy,  the  mission  was  sus- 
pended. An  effort  was  made  to  revive  it  after  the 
war,  but  with  little  success. 

MISSION     AT     CORNPLANTEr's     TOWN. 

In  1814  the  Western  Board,  in  consequence  of  a 
personal  and  pressing  application  from  Cornplanter, 
a  distinguished  chief  of  the  Six  nations,  resolved  to 
establish  a  mission  among  his  people.    The  Indians, 

5* 


54  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

who  had  requested  this  mission,  received  very  cor- 
dially the  missionary  and  school-master  who  were 
sent  to  them,  engaged  to  provide  for  their  own  chil- 
dren boarding  and  lodging,  without  any  expense  to 
the  Society;  and  the  Chief  promised  to  furnish  a 
school-house  and  a  dwelling  for  the  teacher,  together 
with  a  farm,  if  it  should  be  judged  necessary  to 
promote  the  design  of  the  mission.  This  chief 
seemed  to  have  a  deep  sense  of  the  importance  of  the 
Christian  religion,  both  for  himself  and  his  people  ; 
and  to  be  exceedingly  desirous  that  they  should  learn 
and  practise  the  arts  and  usages  of  civilized  life.  The 
General  Assembly  agreed  to  allow  three  hundred 
dollars,  toward  the  support  of  this  mission.  But  the 
instruction  of  these  Indians  was,  after  a  short  time, 
assumed  by  another  denomination  of  Christians ;  and 
in  the  autumn  of  1818,  the  school  at  Cornplanter's 
town,  owing  to  the  occurrence  of  several  obstacles, 
and  the  removal  of  a  number  of  the  Indian  families 
from  the  town  and  the  adjacent  country,  was  discon- 
tinued. The  Board  of  Trust,  reluctant  to  loose  alto- 
gether, the  fruits  of  their  labour  and  liberality,  endea- 
voured to  persuade  a  number  of  the  Indian  boys, 
who  had  made  some  considerable  progress,  to  prose- 
cute their  education  ;  and  offered  as  an  encourage- 
ment, to  bring  them  into  Christian  society,  and  to 
clothe,  support,  and  instruct  them  gratuitously.  This 
benevolent  offer,  however,  was  not  accepted,  and  the 
Board  were  compelled,  at  least  for  a  time,  to  resign 
their  hopes  of  further  success. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  55 


MISSION     AT     LEWISTOWN     IN    OHIO. 

In  1814,  a  mission  at  Lewistown  in  Ohio  was 
projected,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  in  that  vicin- 
ity. In  the  following  year,  four  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  were  granted  to  the  Rev.  James  Hughs,  who 
was  about  to  remove  to  Ohio,  and  offered  to  under- 
take the  mission.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  prospect 
of  benefitting  the  benighted  pagans  seemed  to  be 
highly  promising,  and  yet  it  ended  in  disappoint- 
ment. It  is  deserving  of  notice,  that  however  un- 
productive of  other  beneficial  results,  were  the  In- 
dian Missions  undertaken  and  patronized  by  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly,  they  seem  to  have  had  a  happy  efiect 
in  preventing  savage  barbarities,  on  the  frontiers  of 
our  country.  It  appears  that  not  one  of  the  tribes 
that  the  Assembly  attempted  to  evangelize,  took 
any  hostile  part  in  the  existing  conflict,  during  the 
war  of  1812. 

In  1818,  the  General  Assembly  adopted  measures 
which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the 

UNITED  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

Believing  that  a  new  Society  for  conducting  Fo- 
reign Missions  might  be  advantageously  formed,  the 
Assembly  of  that  year  entered  into  a  correspondence 
on  the  subject,  with  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 
and  the  Associated  Reformed  Church.  The  propo- 
sition made,  met  with  a  cordial  reception  from  the 


56  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

supreme  judicatories  of  these  sister  Churches  ;  and 
the  Committee  which  had  been  appointed  to  manage 
the  concern  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly,  reported, 
at  the  next  meeting  of  that  body,  the  Constitution 
which  had  been  prepared  for  the  contemplated  Soci- 
ety ;  and  which,  after  some  amendments,  adopted  in 
the  following  year,  stood  as  expressed  in  the  follow- 
ing articles. 

"  1.  The  Society  shall  be  composed  of  the  Pres- 
byterian, Reformed  Dutch,  and  Associate  Reformed 
Churches,  and  all  others  who  may  choose  to  join 
them  ;  and  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  The  Uni- 
ted Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

"  2.  The  object  of  the  Society  shall  be,  to  spread 
the  Gospel  among  the  Indians  of  North  America,  the 
inhabitants  of  Mexico,  and  South  America,  and 
other  portions  of  the  heathen  and  anti-christian 
world. 

*'3.  The  business  of  the  Society  shall  be  conduct-, 
ed  by  a  Board,  consisting  of  a  President,  six  Vice- 
Presidents,  a  Corresponding  Secretary,  a  Recording 
Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  eighteen  Managers,  to  be 
annually  chosen  by  the  Society.  They  shall  have 
power  to  enact  their  own  bye-laws.  Seven  shall 
constitute  a  quorum. 

"  4.  The  Board  shall  present  their  annual  report 
to  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  three  denominations, 
for  their  information. 

"  5.  Any  person  paying  three  dollars  annually,  or 
thirty  dollars  at  one  time,  shall  be  a  member  of  the 
Society ;  and  any  person  presenting  to  the  Society  a 


PRESBYTERIAxN     31ISSIONS.  57 

donation  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars,  shall 
be  a  director  for  life,  and  entitled  to  a  seat  and  vote 
in  the  Board  of  Managers. 

"  6.  The  President,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary  of  any 
Society  auxiliary  to  this,  shall  be  ex-officio  members 
of  the  Board  of  ManaiJiers. 

"  7.  The  Board  of  Managers  shall  be  authorized 
to   fill  any  vacancies  that  may  occur  in  the  Board. 

"8.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  shall  be 
in  the  city  of  New  York  on  the . 

"  9.  Missionaries  shall  be  selected  from  the  three 
Churches  indiscriminately. 

"  10.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  by  a  vote 
of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  at  an  annual 
meeting,  with  the  consent  of  the  highest  judicatory 
of  the  three  denominations." 

The  operations  of  this  Society  were  commenced 
with  vigour  and  unanimity,  and  with  prospects  appa- 
rently the  most  auspicious.  The  United  States  Go- 
vernment, then  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Mon- 
roe, gave  it  countenance  and  patronage — allotting  to 
its  establishments  a  liberal  portion  of  the  fund  annu* 
ally  appropriated  by  Congress  to  the  civilization  of 
the  Indians.  The  Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade, 
Col.  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  could  scarcely  have  em- 
barked in  its  favour  with  more  zeal  and  activity,  if 
the  whole  concern  had  been  his  own.  The  supreme 
judicatories  of  the  united  denominations,  made  ear- 
nest and  repeated  appeals  to  the  Churches  under 
their  supervision — urging  them  to  liberal  contribu- 
tions to  support  the  establishments  which  they  were 


58  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

pledged  to  sustain,  and  to  earnest,  united,  and  con- 
stant prayer  for  their  success.  Numerous  auxiliary 
Societies  and  Associations  were  formed,  to  aid  the 
operations  of  the  general  Board ;  and  toward  the 
close  of  its  existence,  subordinate  Boards  of  Agency, 
were  established  at  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Louisville 
in  Kentucky,  and  St.  Louis  in  Missouri.  An  inte- 
resting monthly  publication,  entitled  The  American 
Missionary  Register^  was  issued,  containing  parti- 
cular information  of  the  state,  progress,  prospects, 
and  necessities  of  the  several  Missions  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Board,  and  a  general  survey  of  other 
missions,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  with  biographi- 
cal notices  of  eminent  deceased  missionaries.  The 
appointed  officers  and  agents  of  the  Society  were  ac- 
tive and  laborious,  as  well  as  intelligent,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duties  severally  ;  and  the  missiona- 
ries they  employed  were  in  general  competent,  as 
well  as  faithful,  devoted,  and  persevering — not  dis- 
heartened by  the  sickness  which  often  prevailed,  and 
the  deaths  which  not  unfrequently  occurred  among 
them. 

No  extended  detail  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Board,  or  of  the  results  of  its  plans  and  efforts, 
can  be  given  in  this  compendious  view.  The  wri- 
ter is  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  the  Secretary  for 
domestic  correspondence,  Mr.  Z.  Lewis,  for  a  sum- 
mary statement  of  the  missions  established,  and  of 
some  other  important  particulars,  of  which  he  will 
avail  himself;  and  to  which  he  will  subjoin  a  few 
additional  remarks.     Mr.  Lewis  states,  that  "The 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  59 

United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  established  in 
1820,  the  Union  Mission,  among  the  Osages  of  the 
Arkansas  :  in  1821,  the  Harmony  Mission,  among 
the  Osages  of  the  Missouri  :  in  1822,  the  Catarau- 
gus  Mission,  in  Western  New  York:  in  1823,  the 
Mackinaw  Mission,  in  Michigan  Territory:  in 
1824,  the  Haytian  Mission,  in  the  Island  of  Hay- 
ti ;  in  all  five  missions.  Four  other  missions  were 
transferred  to  us,  as  follows  :  in  1821,  the  Tusca- 
rora  and  Seneca  Missions,  by  the  New  York  Mis- 
sionary Society;  in  1823,  .the  Fort  Gratiot  Mis- 
sion, in  Michigan,  by  the  Northern  Missionary 
Society:  and  in  1825,  the  Manmee  Mission,  on 
the  Maumee  river,  by  the  Western  Missionary  So- 
ciety at  Pittsburgh.  Thus  when  our  missionary  in- 
terests were  transferred  to  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  we  had  under 
our  care  Nine  Missions,  embracing  sixty  male  and 
female  missionaries;  tivo  hundred  and  fifty  chil- 
dren and  youth,  including  six  beneficiaries  at  the 
Foreign  Mission  School  in  Connecticut ;  and  more 
than  forty  native  converts  to  the  faith  and  hope  of 
the  Gospel.'' 


THE     TWO     OSAGE     MISSIONS. 

In  a  brief  review  of  the  missions  thus  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Lewis,  it  is  painful  to  remark,  that  the  two 
Osage  Missions,  although  the  first  established,  and 
always  the  most  expensive,  yet  were  those  in  which 
there  was  the  least  success.     Till  about  the  middle 


60  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

of  August  182 3,  when,  by  the  interposition  and  in- 
fluence of  the  agents  of  the  general  government, 
peace  was  established  among  the  Osages  and  the 
Cherokees,  there  had  been,  between  those  tribes, 
from  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries 
in  the  Osage  country,  a  state  of  ceaseless  hostility. 
From  this  cause,  the  mission  families  were  often 
placed  in  very  perilous  circumstances ;  and  though, 
under  the  protection  of  a  kind  Providence,  they 
eventually  escaped  personal  violence,  and  sustained 
no  material  loss  of  property,  yet  their  plans  and 
efforts  for  the  benefit  of  the  benighted  pagans  were 
all  marred,  and  constantly  held  in  check.  Beside 
the  erection  of  mills,  the  enclosure  and  cultivation  of 
large  fields,  and  the  establishment  of  a  smithery, 
schools  were  opened,  and  the  Indians  w^ere  invited 
and  urged  to  send  their  children  for  instruction. 
But  a  general  and  standing  excuse  for  keeping 
them  from  school  was,  the  danger  to  which  they 
would  be  exposed  from  their  enemies,  if  absent 
from  their  parents.  That  this  excuse  was  little 
else  than  a  pretence,  was  proved  by  the  slow  and 
small  increase  of  the  schools,  after  the  restoration 
of  peace.  In  August  1823,  there  were  in  the 
school  at  Harmony ^  but  eighteen  children,  thir- 
teen girls  and  five  boys  ;  and  at  the  Union  school, 
the  whole  number  was  only  thirteen.  In  1825,  the 
school  at  Harmony  had  reached  its  maximum  num- 
ber of  thirty-six  pupils  ;  and  at  Union  the  number 
varied  from  fourteen  to  twenty  ;  and  in  the  few  in- 
stances in  which  some  serious  impressions  of  reli- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  61 

gion  seemed  to  be  made,  the  hopes  of  the  mission- 
aries were  ultimately  disappointed. 

If  there  was  ever  a  single  Osage  who  became  a 
Christian  convert,  and  held  fast  his  integrity,  it  is 
unknown  to  the  author  of  this  sketch  ;  *  so  that  the 
native  converts  mentioned  b)^  Mr.  Lewis,  must  have 
been  among  the  heathen  of  the  other  missionary  sta- 
tions. At  those  located  in  western  New  York,  it  is 
known,  that  promising  Christian  churches  were  es- 
tablished ;  a  considerable  number  of  hopeful  converts 
were  also  made  at  other  missionary  stations,  whose 
members  were  mostly  native  Indians. 

The  want  of  success  among  the  Osages  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  attributable  to  any  defect  of  fide- 
lity, zeal,  or  diligence  in  the  missionaries  employed 
by  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society ;  and 
whatever  appearances  of  a  change  for  the  better,  if 
such  there  were,  under  the  management  of  the  Ame- 
rican Board,  those  appearances  must  have  been  tem- 
porary and  evanescent.  The  Missionary  Herald  for 
the  month  of  January,  of  the  present  year,  contains 
the  following  melancholy  statement — "  Mr.  Requa, 
the  only  remaining  individual  of  the  Osage  mission, 
and  who  had  himself  nearly  determined  to  abandon 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  writer  has  seen  with  plea- 
sure, in  the  Missionary  Herald  for  March  1838,  the  following 
statement  from  a  missionary  to  the  Cherokees  of  Arkansas — 
"  The  Osage  young  woman,  who  has  been  brought  up  by  the 
mission,  aids  in  the  management  of  the  girls  out  of  school. 
She  has  been  a  professor  of  religion  for  several  years,  and 
seems  to  be  a  true  follower  of  Christ." 
6 


62  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

his  work  there  in  discouragement,  visited  their 
towns  last  autumn.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  pro- 
vidence of  God  was  clearly  calling  to  a  re-establish- 
ment of  the  mission,  and  accordingly,  after  corres- 
ponding with  the  Committee,  he  examined  their  re- 
servation, and  selected  a  favourable  spot  for  a  large 
agricultural  colony,  and  made  considerable  progress 
in  preparing  the  requisite  buildings  and  other  im- 
provements. A  preacher  and  school-master  were  ex- 
pected to  join  him,  as  soon  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  But  during  the  past  summer,  the  hostility 
of  other  portions  of  the  tribe  to  the  new  establish- 
ment, and  apparently  to  all  measures  for  introducing 
Christian  knowledge  and  the  arts  of  civilized  life 
among  them,  became  manifest.  So  great  was  the  an- 
noyance suffered,  and  so  little  prospect  of  usefulness, 
or  even  of  safety  to  the  settlers  and  the  mission  pro- 
perty, did  there  seem  to  be,  that  in  the  month  of 
July,  Mr.  Requa  removed  his  effects,  and  left  the  re- 
servation. No  mission  station  is  maintained  among 
the  Osages."  * 

THE  CATARAUGUS  MISSION, 

Was  located  near  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Buffalo.  The  Indians  of  this  sta- 
tion were  only  a  section  of  the  Seneca  tribe ;  and 
both  the  Senecas  and  Tuscaroras  were  greatly  divi- 


*  The  last  accounts  from  the  Osage  tribe,  represent  this  un- 
happy people  as  in  the  most  deplorable  state  of  misery  and  des- 
titution— suffering  and  dying  of  absolute  famine 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  63 

ded  on  the  subject  of  receiving  Christian  Missiona- 
ries, the  Christian  party  being  earnestly  in  favour  of 
their  reception,  and  the  more  numerous  Pagan  party 
decisively  opposed  to  their  instructions,  and  even  to 
their  residing  on  the  Indian  reservations.  The  prin- 
cipal Chief  of  the  Seneca  nation,  known  by  the  name 
of  Red  Jacket,  was  avowedly  and  till  the  day  of  his 
death,  which  but  recently  occurred,  determinately 
and  inveterately  hostile,  both  to  civilization  and  the 
Christian  religion.  The  United  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  however,  were  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
the  services  of  a  teacher,  who,  under  their  patronage, 
established  the  most  prosperous  school  at  this  station 
which  they  ever  founded.  The  managers,  in  their 
eighth  report,  the  last  before  the  transfer  to  the 
American  Board,  speaking  of  the  Cataraugus  Mis- 
sion, make  the  following  statement : — "  The  contin- 
ued progress  of  this  Mission  is  highly  gratifying  to 
your  Managers.  The  school,  at  our  last  anniversa- 
ry, embraced  forty-five  children,  twenty-five  having 
since  been  added,  the  present  number  is  seventy. 
By  their  general  deportment,  by  the  proficiency  they 
have  made  in  learning  to  read  and  write,  and  the 
cheerfulness  and  skill  with  which  they  have  per- 
formed the  duties  assigned  to  them  out  of  school,  the 
children  have  gained  the  commendation  and  esteem 
of  their  instructors.  Some  of  the  older  boys  have 
manifested  a  more  than  ordinary  seriousness  of  char- 
acter. Impressed  with  a  sense  of  their  danger  as  sin- 
ners, they  have  been  discovered  in  little  weeping 
circles,  renouncing   the  Pagan's  hope,  and  uniting 


64  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

their  hearts  in  prayer  to  the  Christian's  God  and  Sa- 
viour. Several  of  the  Chiefs,  in  the  view  of  your 
Superintendent,  give  evidence  of  piety.  They  are 
anxiously  looking  forward  to  the  appointment  of  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  for  that  station ;  and  are  only 
waiting  the  organization  of  a  missionary  church,  to 
make  a  public  and  formal  renunciation  of  the  Pagan 
standard,  and  to  enrol  their  names  under  the  banner 
of  the  cross." 


THE    MACKINAW    MISSION. 

The  Mackinaw  Mission,  on  the  island  of  Michil- 
imacinach,  in  the  strait  or  broad  stream  which  con- 
nects Lake  Huron  with  Lake  Michigan,  was  supposed 
to  occupy  a  position  peculiarly  favourable  to  exten- 
sive missionary  operations.  In  the  report  of  the 
Managers,  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  article,  they 
say — "  In  the  opinion  of  the  Superintendent  [of  this 
mission]  the  field  of  missionary  labour  at  this  sta- 
tion, may  be  just  as  wide  as  the  most  extended  chari- 
ties and  active  exertions  of  the  Church  please  to  make 
it."  This  opinion  is  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  a 
respectable  officer  of  the  garrison  at  Sault  de  St. 
Marie,  and  by  the  verbal  communications  of  a  judi- 
cious and  intelligent  citizen  of  that  place.  They  all 
concur  in  the  opinion,  that  Mackinaw,  in  point  of 
local  situation,  is  better  calculated  for  a  missionary 
establishment,  than  any  other  part  of  that  western 
region ;  and  that,  to  future  missionaries,  it  will  prove 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  65 

the  key  of  entrance  into  a  number  of  distant  and 
populous  tribes.'' 

The  Rev.  William  M.  Ferry,  who  had  previously 
resided  at  Mackinaw  for  about  ten  months,  and  who 
tendered  his  services  to  the  Board,  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  Mission.  A  letter  of  instruc- 
tions was  sent  to  his  residence  at  Northampton,  in 
Massachusetts,  and  he  speedily  repaired,  with  his 
wife,  to  the  place  of  his  destination.  A  promising 
school  was  opened,  which  at  the  time  the  mission 
was  transferred,  in  its  infant  state,  to  the  American 
Board,  contained  nearly  fifty  Indian  children.  A  fe- 
male teacher,  in  addition  to  Mrs.  Ferry,  was  em- 
ployed in  this  school. 

THE    HAYTIEN    MISSION. 

The  Haytien  Mission,  was  intended  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  coloured  people  of  the  United  States, 
who,  influenced  by  the  favourable  prospects  presen- 
ted to  them  in  Hayti,  by  the  constituted  authorities 
of  that  island,  resorted  thither  in  great  numbers,  in 
1824.  The  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  ap- 
pointed two  missionaries  of  the  coloured  race,  Mr. 
Pennington  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Hughes  of  Phila- 
delphia, both  ordained  ministers,  to  visit  Hayti ;  to 
preach  to  the  emigrants,  and  when  circumstances 
should  favour,  to  form  one  or  more  Presbyterian 
churches  among  them.  They  repaired  to  the  field 
of  their  missionary  labour ;  but  soon  left  it,  without 
effecting  any  thing  valuable,   although   they   were 


66  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

kindly  received.  A  ruling  elder  of  the  First  Afri- 
can Presbyterian  church  of  Philadelphia,  has  stated 
to  the  writer,  since  this  sketch  has  been  in  prepara- 
tion,  that  he  was  in  Hayti  when  the  missionaries  ar- 
rived ;  that  he  became  acquainted  with  them ;  that 
such  were  the  discouraging  circumstances  in  which 
they  found  the  emigrants,  that  they  scarcely  at- 
tempted to  preach ;  that  they  stayed  on  the  Island 
not  more  than  three  months,  and  then  returned  to 
this  country ;  as  did  many  others  who  were  disap- 
pointed like  themselves. 

THE    TUSCARORA    MISSION. 

The  Tuscarora  Mission,  located  about  four  miles 
East  of  Lewistown,  Niagara  county,  New  York,  had 
been  under  the  care  of  the  New  York  Missionary 
Society  for  about  twenty  years,  when  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  in 
1821.  At  the  time  of  the  transfer,  the  estabishment 
possessed  a  missionary  farm  of  about  a  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  with  a  good  house,  barn,  and  orchard ; 
about  forty  acres  of  the  farm  were  enclosed,  and  un- 
der the  cultivation  of  an  experienced  farmer,  with 
his  family.  There  was  at  the  station,  one  mission- 
ary, the  Rev.  James  C.  Crane;  a  regularly  organized 
church,  comprising  seventeen  Indian  members  ;  and 
preparations  had  been  made  to  erect  a  new  council- 
house,  and  also  a  church  edifice  of  larger  dimensions 
and  more  convenient  structure,  than  that  which  had 
hitherto    been    occupied.      The   Indians   generally 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  67 

lived  in  comfortable  dwellings,  and  had  made  no 
inconsiderable  progress  in  civilization,  possessed  a 
good  deal  of  property,  all  the  implements  of  hus- 
bandry, and  some  of  their  youth  had  made  good  pro- 
ficiency in  the  elementary  parts  of  an  English  educa- 
tion. This  mission  was  somewhat  improved,  during 
the  five  years  it  was  under  the  care  of  the  United 
Society,  but  the  details  cannot  be  inserted  in  this  li- 
mited sketch.  The  result  may  be  judged  of  by  a 
single  extract  from  the  journal  of  its  Superintendent, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Harris,  written  three  months  after 
it  had  been  made  over  to  the  American  Board.  The 
extract  relates  to  a  sacramental  season,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"August  29,  1826.  Went  to  the  Tuscarora  vil- 
lage on  Saturday,  and  met  with  the  Church  and 
congregation  on  the  Sabbath.  The  assembly,  though 
small,  appeared  to  be  devout.  To  me  it  was  a  privi- 
lege truly  delightful,  to  hold  out  to  the  scattered  of 
Christ's  flock  on  this  thirsty  hill,  the  symbols  of  a 
Saviour's  death ;  and  to  witness  with  what  tears  of 
joy  and  thankfulness  many  came  forward,  and  re- 
ceived the  tokens  of  his  love. 

"  There  has  been  at  this  station,  for  a  few  months 
past,  a  more  than  usual  seriousness  among  some  of 
the  young  people.  Six  or  seven  persons  have  ap- 
peared for  some  time,  to  be  anxiously  inquiring  the 
way  to  heaven.  I  requested  all  the  inquirers  to 
meet  me  on  Monday  afternoon.  I  was  deeply  affec- 
ted with  the  indications  of  the  Divine  Spirit  with  us. 
Such  appeared  to  be  the  tenderness  of  conscience, 


68  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

the  deep  and  powerful  conviction  of  the  hatefulness 
of  sin,  and  the  earnestness  of  desire  to  be  delivered 
from  its  power,  that  I  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt, 
that  God  had  been  among  them  by  his  Spirit ;  and 
in  the  case  of  three  or  four  'wounded  mightily.' 
Some  of  these  persons  were  so  affected  in  conversing 
with  me,  that  they  sobbed  and  cried  aloud  for  some 
time.  They  say  that  frequently  they  have  such  an 
awful  sense  of  their  past  iniquity,  that  they  cannot 
help  crying  out." 

THE    SENECA    MISSION. 

The  Seneca  Mission,  was  located  four  or  five  miles 
from  Bufi*alo,  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Erie,  and  was 
commenced  by  the  New  York  Missionary  Society 
in  1811,  and  transferred  to  the  United  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  along  with  the  Tuscarora  Mission 
in  1821.  When  assumed  by  the  latter  Society,  the 
property  of  this  mission  consisted  of  two  dwelling 
houses  and  a  school-house,  together  with  the  use,  for 
an  indefinite  period,  of  the  ground  on  which  they 
were  erected.  This  tribe,  doubtless  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Red  Jacket,  their  principal  Chief,  had  re- 
fused to  permit  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  to  reside 
among  them ;  although  they  allowed  a  school  to  be 
opened  for  the  instruction  of  their  children;  and  the 
teacher  of  this  school,  with  his  wife,  were  the  only 
missionaries  at  this  station,  when  it  was  relinquished 
by  the  New  York  Missionary  Society.  Immedi- 
ately  afterwards,   however,   two    additional   female 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  69 

teachers  were  appointed  for  the  school;  and  the 
Christian  party  now  requested  the  United  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  to  send  them  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  who  might  reside  in  the  near  neighbourhood, 
but  not  within  the  bounds  of  the  Indian  reservation. 
This  request,  after  some  time,  was  granted,  and  pub- 
lic worship  was  performed  in  the  mission  house  of 
the  establishment.  In  April  1823,  a  missionary 
church  was  organized,  consisting  of  four  men,  three 
of  whom  were  chiefs ;  and  on  this  occasion,  the  con- 
gregation assembled  in  the  council  house. 

The  Legislature  of  New  York  rejected  a  petition 
presented  to  them,  praying  that  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel might  be  permitted  to  reside  on  the  Indian  lands; 
and  at  one  time  the  civil  authorities  of  that  State  en- 
tirely disbanded  and  broke  up  the  Seneca  Mission. 
The  Indians  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  redress, 
and  their  application  was,  in  the  first  instance,  re- 
fused; but  a  second  application,  in  which  a  large 
number  of  their  chiefs  and  warriors  joined,  was  suc- 
cessful, and  the  mission  was  resumed.  The  school 
which  was  established  at  this  station,  was  of  a  most 
promising  character,  and  when  transferred  to  the 
American  Board,  consisted  of  forty-three  pupils; 
but  it  is  believed  that  no  more  of  the  native  Indians 
than  the  four  individuals  already  mentioned,  be- 
longed to  the  mission  church  at  that  time. 


70  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 


THE  FORT  GRATIOT  MISSION. 

The  Fort  Gratiot  Mission,  in  the  Michigan  Ter- 
ritory, was  located  on  the  river  St.  Clair,  about  one 
mile  below  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron ;  and  when 
transferred  by  the  Northern  Missionary  Society,  it 
consisted  of  one  male  and  two  female  teachers,  and 
an  Indian  school  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  children. 

The  author  of  this  sketch  has  not  been  able  to  ob- 
tain any  information  relative  to  the  changes  which 
iiiay  have  taken  place,  for  the  better  or  the  worse,  in 
this  mission,  during  the  time,  about  two  years  and  a 
half,  that  it  was  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

THE  MAUMEE  MISSION, 

The  Maumee  Mission,  organized  in  1822,  by  the 
Board  of  Trust  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  and 
transferred  to  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
ety in  1825,  was  located  on  the  Maumee  river,  near 
Fort  Meigs,  in  Wood  county,  and  state  of  Ohio. 
This  mission  was  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
Society  to  which  it  was  transferred,  but  about  seven 
months ;  and  probably  underwent  no  changes  what- 
ever, during  that  period.  In  giving  a  compendious 
view  of  it,  therefore,  the  writer  will  avail  himself  of 
communications  received  from  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Swift, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trust,  relative  to  the 
origin  of  the  mission,  and  to  its  general  state  and 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  71 

operations,  while  connected  with  that  Board.  The 
substance  of  Mr.  Swift's  statement  is  as  follows : — 
"  The  Board  of  Trust  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
after  various  incipient  measures,  resolved,  at  a  meet- 
ing held  in  Pittsburgh,  February  6th,  1822,  to  insti- 
tute, in  the  coming  summer,  a  mission  among  the  Ot- 
taway  Indians,  on  the  banks  of  the  Maumee  river. 
At  a  subsequent  meeting,  the  Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy 
was  appointed  to  repair  to  the  Land-office  in  Ohio, 
and  enter  for  the  Board,  from  one  to  two  hundred 
acres  of  land,  adjoining  the  Indian  reservation ;  and 
from  thence  proceed  to  the  site  of  the  contemplated 
mission,  and  superintend  the  erection  of  suitable 
buildings  for  their  accommodation.  After  the  close 
of  the  Sjmod  in  the  Fall,  the  Board  having,  during 
the  preceding  summer,  conferred  with  and  appoint- 
ed various  persons  for  the  intended  service,  met  in 
the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  and  with  appropriate  religious 
exercises,  constituted  a  mission  family,  to  go  to  the 
said  Ottaway  tribe  of  Indians.  The  family  consisted 
of  twenty-one  individuals ;  two  of  them  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  and  two  others,  teachers  for  a  school  in- 
tended to  be  opened ;  the  others,  many  of  whom 
were  females,  were  to  be  employed  as  assistants  to 
the  family,  the  school  and  the  farm.  The  Rev.  Sa- 
muel Tait  was  appointed,  pro  tempore,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  mission.  After  having  thus  been  set 
apart  to  their  work,  the  missionary  family  repaired 
to  their  field  of  labour.  A  promising  school  was 
shortly  afterwards  opened ;  stated  meetings  were 
commenced — the  missionaries  preaching  through  an 


72  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

interpreter — and  improvements  on  the  land  purchas- 
ed were  undertaken.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Tait,  having  ful- 
filled his  temporary  appointment,  returned  to  his 
people  in  the  spring  ;  and  in  September  following, 
(1823,)  the  Rev.  Ludovicus  Robbins,  then  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  having 
been  appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Tait,  in  July  prece- 
ding, was  publicly  set  apart  as  Superintendent  of 
the  mission,  and  joined  his  brethren  at  the  station 
shortly  afterward.  One  of  the  preachers  and  one 
other  individual,  did  not  continue  long  in  connexion 
with  the  mission ;  but  their  places  were  supplied  by 
a  physician,  (who  was  also  to  act  as  school-master,) 
his  wife,  and  another  female  missionary.  Up  to  the 
Autumn  of  1825,  at  which  time  the  station,  on  ap- 
plication of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
was  transferred  to  that  Board,  was  well  sustained — 
chiefly  by  the  churches  witliin  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh  ;  although  the  Board  were,  for 
the  whole  period,  considerably  engaged  in  appoint- 
ing and  sustaining  missionaries  in  feeble  Churches, 
and  in  new  and  destitute  settlements. 

"As  to  the  results  of  the  Mission,  I  could  not  e;jsily 
give  you  particulars  ;  and  besides,  you  will  perceive 
from  the  date  of  the  transfer,  that  the  station  did  not 
continue  under  our  care  long  after  its  operations 
were  fairly  commenced.  We  had  a  promising 
school  at  the  station,  for  the  most  of  the  time ;  and 
as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  two  or  three  of  its  pupils  be- 
came hopefully  pious.  Through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  missionaries,  much  good  was  done  to  one  or 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  73 

two  infant  churches  in  the  white  settlements,  in  the 
vicinity,  which  were  supplied  with  the  means  of 
grace  by  them.  In  the  year  1823,  the  Board  ap- 
pointed the  Rev.  Robert  M.  Laird,  pastor  of  the 
church  at  P7Hncess  Ann,  Maryland,  as  an  explo- 
ring agent,  to  visit  the  region  of  the  Upper  Lakes,  to 
labour  at  the  Military  station  at  the  Sault  de  St, 
Marie,  Michigan  Territory,  and  to  hold  consulta- 
tions w*ith  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  in  that  re- 
gion, on  the  subject  of  missionary  schools,  and  in 
general  to  collect  information  from  various  quarters, 
on  all  points  connected  with  the  tribes,  character, 
number,  and  wants  of  the  Aborigines  of  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Laird  spent  about  nine  months  in  that 
service,  principally  labouring  at  the  Military  post, 
and  in  the  garrison.  A  considerable  revival  of  reli- 
gion took  place  among  the  officers  and  soldiers,  un- 
der his  ministry,  and  numbers  gave  credible  evi- 
dence of  a  change  of  heart.  The  Board  contempla- 
ted the  establishment  of  a  mission  in  the  region  of 
Lake  Superior ;  but  the  proposal  and  prospect  of  the 
transfer  of  their  operatians  to  New  York,  led  them 
to  defer  any  further  measures  at  the  time.'^ 

The  Missionary  Herald  for  the  month  of  April 
1826,  furnishes,  from  a  report  to  which  Mr.  Swift  re- 
fers, some  important  information  relative  to  the  In- 
dian school  at  Maumee.    A  part  of  it  is  as  follows  : 

"  The  number  of  scholars  in  the  school  is  thirty- 

one,  of  whom  seventeen  are  boys.     Six  of  the  pupils 

are  from  the  Chippeway  tribe,  nine  are  Wyandots, 

three  Potawatomies,  four  Ottawas,  four  Miamies, 

7 


74  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

four  Shawnees,  and  one  Munsee.  Their  ages  are 
from  seven  to  twenty-two;  one,  however,  is  twenty- 
seven.  Twenty  can  read  the  Bible,  thirteen  write, 
five  are  studying  arithmetic,  four  geography,  and 
three  grammer."  A  part  of  a  letter  is  then  given 
from  Mr.  Van  Tassel,  the  teacher  of  the  school,  of 
which  the  following  are  extracts  : — *<  Before  I  came 
here,  I  had  taught  school  several  years,  and  I  can  as- 
sure you  sir,  that  these  scholars  excel  in  writing  any 
w^hite  children  I  ever  taught.  In  short,  the  children 
are  all  making  such  progress  in  their  studies  as  af- 
fords a  high  degree  of  satisfaction  to  their  instructors, 
and  we  presume  that  could  our  patrons  and  Christian 
friends  witness  their  docility,  their  submission  to  au- 
thority, and  the  eagerness  with  which  they  listen  to 
instruction  drawn  from  the  Bible,  they  would  not 
feel  as  if  they  were  labouring  in  vain,  or  spending 
their  money  for  naught.  For  a  few  weeks  past,  the 
scholars  have  been  exercising  their  talents  in  \vi'iting 
composition,  and  they  frequently  hand  billets  to  their 
teacher  and  other  members  of  the  family.'^  Copies 
of  three  of  these  billets  are  then  given,  after  which 
the  teacher  adds — "  Many  more  equally  good  have 
been  handed  in,  but  these  will  be  sufficient  to  give  a 
specimen  of  their  improvement,  and  show  you  the 
state  of  their  minds.  They  all  appear  united,  cheer- 
ful, and  happy — as  much  or  more  so  than  could  rea- 
sonably be  expected,  while  they  are  destitute  of  the 
benign  religion  of  Jesus.  0  if  they  could  all  enjoy 
this^  we  should  have  a  little  paradise  here  below. 
For  this  we  pray,  and  for  this  we  beg  a  special  inte- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  75 

rest  in  your  prayers  to  Almighty  God,  with  whom  is 
the  residue  of  the  Spirit." 

Having  completed  a  survey  of  the  missions  insti- 
tuted by  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
and  of  those  received  under  its  care,  it  may  now  be 
proper  to  inquire  what  were  the  causes  which  had 
influence  in  producing  the  transfer  of  all  its  concerns 
to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  and  the  consequent  dissolution  of  the  So- 
ciety itself.  A  heavy  debt,  contracted  by  the  So- 
ciety, and  which  it  knew  not  how  to  meet,  was  the 
principal  cause  publicly  assigned  for  this  transfer,  at 
the  time  it  was  made.  That  this  was  one  cause  is 
not  questioned ;  but  that  it  was  not  the  only,  or  even 
the  chief  cause,  is  manifest  from  the  published  trans- 
actions which  took  place,  between  the  party  which 
made  and  that  which  accepted  the  transfer.  The 
following  query  was  proposed  to  Mr.  Lewis — "  Was 
the  want  of  funds  the  chief  inducement?"  In  reply 
he  says — "  So  far  as  I  know  this  was  the  only  in- 
ducement. In  May  1825,  having  served  the  Board 
faithfully  and  gratuitously  for  five  years,  as  their 
principal  Secretary,  and  finding  that  my  health  be- 
gan to  yield  under  my  heavy  labours,  and  having 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Society,  for  the  first 
time,  free  from  debt ;  I  resigned  my  office,  in  fa- 
vour of  Mr.  Crane,  and  removed  my  family  to  the 
country  for  the  summer.  On  my  return  to  the  city 
in  September,  I  found,  to  my  astonishment,  that  the 
drafts  upon  the  Board,  and  other  expenses,  had,  in 
four  months,  exceeded  the  receipts,  by  nearly  ten 


76  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

thousand  dollars;  that  the  Board,  as  well  as  the 
Treasurer,  had  become  alarmed ;  that  they  had  de- 
termined to  offer  the  whole  concern  to  the  Eastern 
Board,  on  condition  that  it  would  assume  our  debt ; 
and  that  Commissioners  had  gone  to  lay  the  proposi- 
tion before  that  Board,  then  in  session."  Mr.  Lewis 
afterwards  says — "I  do  not  assert  that  the  want  of 
funds  was  the  only  inducement  [to  the  transfer]  but 
that  it  was  the  only  one  mentioned  to  me."  He 
then  tells  the  querist  that  for  further  information,  if 
desired,  recourse  must  be  had  to  two  gentlemen, 
*'  who,  he  says,  I  understood  were  the  leading  actors 
in  the  project  of  the  transfer."  These  gentlemen 
have  not  been  consulted ;  for  if  the  Society  was  out 
of  debt  entirely,  but  four  months  before  the  transfer; 
and  if  the  amount  of  debt,  at  the  time  it  took  place, 
did  not  exceed  ten  thousand  dollars  ;  and  if,  as  we 
know  was  the  fict,  three  respectable  religious  deno- 
minations were  morally  bound  and  even  solemnly 
pledged,  to  see  this  debt  discharged,  it  cannot  be 
credited  that  there  were  not  other,  and  more  power- 
ful motives,  prompting  to  the  transfer,  than  the  fact 
that  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  owed 
ten  thousand  dollars.  The  avowed  and  undoubtedly 
the  real  reasons,  which  operated  in  this  concern,  are 
distinctly  set  forth  in  the  published  proceedings  of 
the  American  Board,  at  their  annual  meeting  in  Sep- 
tember 1825,  and  inserted  in  the  October  number  of 
the  Missionary  Herald,  of  the  same  year.  They  are 
as  follows : 

"  In  the  course  of  the  two  first  days,  the  subject 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  77 

of  amalgamating  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
with  the  Board  came  several  times  under  con- 
sideration. A  committee,  appointed  to  confer  with 
the  Commissioners  from  that  Society,  reported,  that 
so  far  as  they  had  been  able  to  examine  the  subject, 
the  proposed  union  is  both  practicable  and  desirable. 
The  Commissioners  then  made  statements  to  the 
Board,  similar  to  those  which  they  had  previously 
made  to  the  Committee.  The  reasons  which  they 
adduced  in  favour  of  a  union  with  the  Board  were 
briefly  these  :* 

"  That  the  most  friendly  relations  and  feelings  now 
exist  between  the  General  Assembly  and  the  Synods, 
and  the  Orthodox  Association  of  New  England  : 

^'That  the  spirit  of  controversy  having  subsided, 
the  intelligent  and  candid  of  the  Christian  public, 
are  all  satisfied,  that  the  same  Gospel  which  is 
preached  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  and  Western 
States,  is  preached  also  in  the  Eastern  States  : 

"That  the  missionaries  of  both  Societies  preach 
precisely  the  same  Gospel  to  the  heathen ;  and  that 
the  same  regulations  are  adopted  by  both,  in  the 
management  of  missions : 

"  That  both  derive  much  of  their  funds  from  the 
same  churches  and  individuals ;   that  the  great  body 


*  It  ought  to  be  particularly  noticed,  that  it  is  here  stated 
that  the  following  reasons  for  an  amalgamation  of  the  two  in- 
stitutions, were  those  which  were  adduced  by  the  Commis- 
sioners themselves ;  and  that  they  were  stated,  first  to  a  Com- 
mitte  of  the  Board,  and  afterwards  repeated  to  the  Board  itself. 
7* 


78  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

of  Christians  do  not  perceive  or  make  any  distinc- 
tion, between  the  two  institutions ;  and  consequent- 
ly do  not  perceive  any  necessity  for  two,  and  regret 
the  existence  of  two  ;  and  that  many  churches  and 
individuals,  unwilling  to  evince  a  preference  for 
either,  are  thus  prevented  from  acting  promptly, 
and  contributing  liberally  to  either : 

"  That  both  Societies  are  evidently  embarrassed, 
and  cramped,  through  the  fear  of  collision  and  diffi- 
culty ;  and  that  the  agents  of  both  are  discouraged, 
and  limited  in  their  operations,  by  the  same  appre- 
hension : 

"  That  the  objects,  principles,  and  operations  of 
both  are  so  entirely  similar,  that  there  can  be  no 
good  reason  assigned  for  maintaining  two : 

"That  the  claims  upon  the  churches  are  becoming 
so  numerous,  and  frequent,  and  the  necessities  of  the 
destitute  so  urgent,  that  all  institutions  are  sacredly 
bound  to  observe  the  most  rigid  economy ;  and  that 
by  the  union,  much  that  is  now  expended  for  the 
support  of  offices,  officers,  agents,  &c.  will  be  saved 
for  the  general  objects  of  the  Societies  : 

"And  lastly,  that  the  prevailing  feeling  in  the 
churches  demands  a  union  between  the  two  Socie- 
ties, and  will  eventually  make  it  unavoidably  neces- 
sary : 

"After  these  statements,  a  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  report  the  terms  on  which  they  supposed  the 
union  might  be  formed  with  the  United  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.  Their  report,  after  much  and 
deliberate  discussion,  was  unanimously  adopted  by 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  79 

the  Board,    and   received   the   concurrence   of  the 
Commissioners  from  New  York.'^ 

It  will  be  observed,  that  in  the  reasons  assigned 
above  for  the  contemplated  amalgamation,  the  em- 
barrassment arising  from  the  want  of  funds,  is  stated 
as  common  to  both  the  conferring  parties ;  and  that 
not  so  much  as  an  intimation  is  given,  that  one  party 
was  more  in  debt  than  the  other,  or  had  experien- 
ced more  difficulty  in  meeting  its  engagements.  The 
general  reason  assigned  for  uniting  the  institution, 
is  contained  in  the  specification  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  two  last.  The  present  writer,  however, 
did  not  then,  nor  at  any  time  since,  believe  it  to 
be  a  well  founded  opinion,  that  "  The  objects,  prin- 
ciples, and  operations  of  both  [the  conferring  par- 
ties] are  so  entirely  similar,  that  there  can  be  no 
good  reason  assigned  for  maintaining  two/^  He  dis- 
tinctly made  known  this  conviction  to  Mr.  Evarts, 
then  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American 
Board,  in  an  interview  had  with  him  on  the  subject, 
and  plainly  intimated  to  him  that  many  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  would  be  found  to  be  of  the 
same  mind  with  the  speaker,  and  that  they  never 
would  be  fully  satisfied  till  they  saw  a  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  established  in  the  church  of  their 
preference,  founded  on  its  distinctive  principles,  and 
exclusively  directed  by  its  own  members.  Still  it  is 
not  questioned,  that  those  who  assigned  the  reasons 
recited  above,  did  honestly  believe  in  their  truth  and 
validity ;  and  that  some  of  the  concerned  are,  to  the 
present  time,  fully  of  the  opinion,  that  the  existence 


80  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

and  character  of  the  American  Board,  renders  unne- 
cessary and  inexpedient  a  separate  organization  in 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  report  of  the  committee,  mentioned  in  the 
closing  paragraph  of  the  foregoing  extended  quota- 
tion, and  which  was  adopted  by  the  American 
Board,  contained  five  preliminary  terms,  as  con- 
ditions of  the  contemplated  union,  and  seven  perma- 
nent terms  of  Union.  Neither  of  these  series  of 
terms  can  be  given  in  extenso  in  this  limited 
sketch ;  nor,  if  it  were  practicable,  would  there  be 
any  use  in  the  insertion  of  the  whole.  Of  the  pre- 
liminary terms,  the  second  and  fourth  stand  thus : 

"2.  During  the  interval  which  must  elapse  be- 
tween the  present  time  and  May  next,  the  Directors 
of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  will  make 
all  practicable  exertions  to  replenish  its  Treasury  ; 
so  that  should  the  proposed  union  take  place,  the 
engagements  to  be  assumed  by  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  may  be  as 
few  and  as  small  as  possible. 

"4.  The  Directors  of  the  United  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  will  direct  the  missionaries  of  the  seve 
ral  stations,  not  to  enter  on  any  new  measures  in- 
volving expense,  and  generally  to  practise  the  strict- 
est economy,  till  the  result  of  this  proposed  measure 
shall  be  known." 

These  articles  are  quoted,  l)ecausc  it  may  be 
thought  that  they  militate  with  wliat  has  been 
said  relative  to  the  debt  of  the  United  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.     But  do  they,  in  reality,  con- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  81 

tain  any  thing  more  than  a  precautionary  measure, 
which  might  have  been  entirely  proper,  if  no  debt 
whatever  of  the  Society  had  existed  ?  Still,  as 
the  fact  was  that  a  debt  was  known  to  exist,  it  is 
readily  admitted  that  these  articles  were  calculated 
to  prevent  its  increase,  and  to  provide  for  its  dimi- 
nution. To  get  rid  of  their  debt,  has  not  been  de- 
nied to  have  been  one  reason  why  the  Directors  of 
the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  were  desir- 
ous to  transfer  it  to  the  American  Board.  That  it 
was  not  the  only,  nor  the  chief  reason,  that  their 
offer  was  made  and  accepted,  has,  it  is  believed,  been 
fully  shown. 

Of  the  permanent  terms  of  union,  agreed  upon 
by  the  American  Board  and  the  "  Commissioners 
from  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  A.  McAuley,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam McMurray,  and  the  Rev.  James  C.  Crane,^'  the 
sixth  article  was  as  follows : 

"  6.  The  highest  judicatories  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  will  re- 
commend the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  as  a  national  institution,  and  enti- 
tled to  the  warm  support  and  efficient  patronage  of 
the  Churches  under  their  respective  jurisdictions.^^ 

This  article  is  inserted,  that  it  may  be  compared 
with  what  was  done  in  relation  to  it,  by  the  two  ju- 
dicatories to  which  it  refers.  The  whole  action  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  on 
this  important  subject,  after  referring  it  to  a  Commit- 
tee, is  embraced  in  the  following  short  extract  from 


82  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

their  records : — "  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  a 
communication  from  a  Committee  of  the  managers 
of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  was  taken 
up,  and  after  mature  deliberation,  it  was 

^'Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  do  con- 
sent to  the  amalgamation  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

*'  Resolved  further,  That  this  General  Assembly 
recommend  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  to  the  favourable  notice  and 
Christian  support  of  the  Church  and  people  under 
their  care.'^ 

The  action  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  church,  on  the  same  subject,  is  recorded  on 
their  minutes  as  follows  : 

"  Whereas  a  Committe  from  the  Board  of  the  Uni- 
ted Foreign  Missionary  Society,  did  enter  into  pre- 
liminary arrangements,  for  amalgamating  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  with  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  ;  and 
whereas  it  is  expressly  declared,  that  no  pledge  of 
support  or  recommendation  to  the  patronage  of  our 
churches,  is  understood  to  be  implied  in  the  consent 
of  this  Synod  ;  therefore 

'^  Resolved,  That  this  Synod  consent  to  transfer 
the  interest  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions." 

Thus  it  appears,  that  the  sixth  article  of  the  per- 
manent terms  of  union  agreed  upon  by  the  Ameri- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  83 

can  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
and  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  was  not  sanctioned,  or  agreed  to,  by 
either  of  the  highest  judicatories  of  the  churches,  to 
which  it  w^as  submitted.  Neither  of  these  judicato- 
ries would  consent  to  recommend,  or  in  any  manner 
recognize  the  American  Board,  as  "a  national  institu- 
tion ;''  nor  would  either  of  them  declare  that  this 
Board  was  "  entitled  to  the  warm  support,  and  effi- 
cient patronage  of  the  churches  under  their  respec- 
tive jurisdictions."  The  Synod  of  the  Dutch  church 
would  not  so  much  as  recommend  the  Board,  in  any 
manner  whatever;  and  state  on  their  minutes,  that  it 
is  expressly  declaredi  that  no  pledge  of  support  or 
recommendation  to  the  patronage  of  our  churches,  is 
understood  to  be  implied,  in  the  consent  of  this  Sy- 
nod to  the  proposed  amalgamation.  The  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  did  go  so  far 
as  to  recommend  the  Board ;  but  only  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  they  have  recommended  several 
other  benevolent  institutions  and  enterprises.  The 
discussion  which  took  place  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly, when  the  subject  of  amalgamation  was  under 
consideration,  has  been  reported  and  published  by 
one  who  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  at  the  time, 
and  who  took  part  in  the  debate  which  ensued;  and 
as  this  report  assigns  some  reasons  for  the  course 
pursued,  and  shows  the  state  of  feeling  among  the 
members  of  the  Assembly  on  the  occasion  ;  and  in  as 
much  as  there  have  been  misapprehensions  and  erro- 
neous statements,  in  regard  to  this  important  trans* 


84  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

action,  it  is  believed  to  be  proper  to  insert  the  brief 
report  referred  to ;  it  is  as  follows  : 

"The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Assembly  on 
the  application  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, of  which  Dr.  Richards  was  the  chairman, 
brought  in  this  resolution  for  adoption  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  do  ap- 
prove of  the  amalgamation  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  and  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  on  the  terms  agreed 
upon.'''' 

Dr.  Janeway  moved  to  strike  out  the  term  which 
was  intended  to  bind  the  Assembly  to  recommend 
the  American  Board  as  a  National  Society.  He  as- 
signed as  reasons  :  1.  That  such  a  recommendation 
would  be  ofiensive  to  other  denominations.  2.  That 
if  the  three  denominations  embraced  by  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  were,  sincerely  and  uni- 
versally, to  act  with  the  American  Board,  they 
would  not  constitute  a  majority  of  the  religious  pub- 
lic in  this  country ;  and  consequently,  if  the  Assem- 
bly were  to  denominate  them  a  National  Society, 
they  would  not  speak  according  to  fact,  and  would 
dishonour  themselves  by  uttering  what  was  not  true. 
Dr.  Alexander  suggested  the  striking  out  of  all  the 
terms;  Dr.  Janeway  was  deliberating  whether  it  were 
expedient  to  make  this  motion,  and  still  occupying 
the  floor,  when  Mr.  Z.  Lewis,  one  of  the  managers 
of  the  United  Foreign  INIissionary  Society,  and  one 
of  the  Committee  to  obtain  the  Assembly's  sanction 
to  the  plan  of  amalgamation,  hastily  rose  by  his  side 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  85 

and  made  the  motion.  Dr.  Janeway  then  said,  "Mo- 
derator, I  accept  that  as  my  motion,"  and  took  his 
seat.  The  motion  was  carried  ;  and  thus  by  a  for- 
mal VOTE  all  the  terms  were  stricken  out  of  the 
resolution.  Dr.  Neil  endeavoured  to  procure  a  re- 
consideration of  the  vote,  but  failed.  Dr.  Ely  then 
moved  to  strike  out  the  words  "  approve  of^^  and  to 
insert  the  words  ''consent  to.^^  This  motion  was 
carried  ;  and  then  the  resolution  read  as  it  now 
stands  in  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly  : 

''Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  do  con- 
sent to  the  amalgamation  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  and  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society." 

When  an  important  article  in  a  contemplated 
treaty,  or  agreement  of  any  kind,  is  rejected  by  one 
of  the  negotiating  parties,  the  other  party  is,  of 
course,  released  from  all  obligation  to  abide  by  any 
other  of  the  proposed  stipulations.  When,  therefore, 
the  two  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  to  which  the  per- 
manent terms  of  union  had  been  submitted,  point- 
edly rejected  the  sixth  article,  and  with  it,  neces- 
sarily, every  thing  of  which  it  was  the  basis  in  the 
other  articles,  the  American  Board  was  freed  from 
every  moral  bond  to  adhere  to  any  part  of  the  pro- 
jected agreement.  In  a  word,  it  became  perfectly 
optional  with  that  Board,  to  take  or  to  refuse,  the 
proffered  missions.  The  Board  chose  to  receive 
them;  and  it  is  not  seen  how  it  could  have  done 
otherwise,  in  consistency  with  what  it  had  from  its 
origin  openly  proclaimed.  It  was  its  avowed  aim, 
8 


86  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

indicated  by  its  very  name,  to  become  a  National 
Institution.  But  it  could  not  become  so  in  fact, 
without,  at  least,  possessing  the  superintendence  of 
the  Foreign  Missions  in  the  Presbyterian  and  Dutch 
churches.  Here,  then,  were  nearly  all  the  heathen 
Missions  that  had  been  originated  by  these  churches, 
now  at  the  offer  of  the  Board,  and  which,  if  this 
Board  did  not  assume  them,  would  certainly  be  pro- 
secuted by  some  other  agency  ;  for  they  were  of  too 
promising  a  character  to  admit  a  thought  of  their 
being  abandoned.  The  property,  moreover,  which 
they  had  accumulated,  was  far  more  than  an  equiva- 
lent for  the  debts  they  had  contracted.  These  debts, 
amounting  as  stated,  to  ten  thousand  dollars,  an  au- 
thentic document  now  before  the  writer,  shows  did 
not  exceed  the  value  of  the  Maumee  Mission  alone.* 

*  "  The  Board  of  Trust  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  were 
led,  from  various  considerations,  to  make  additional  purchases 
of  land,  until,  at  the  time  of  the  transfer,  (in  the  Autumn  of 
1825)  they  possessed  upwards  of  six  hundred  acres,  valued  at 
ten  thousand  dollars.  This  land,  which  was  recently,  if  it  is 
not  still,  in  the  possession  of  the  American  Board,  lies  immedi- 
ately adjoining  the  Wabash  and  Lake  Erie  Canal,  and  as  the 
Indian  claims  have  been  now  entirely  extinguished,  it  must 
prove  extremely  valuable  to  the  Board." — Manuscript  state- 
mentfrom  Rev.  E.  P.  Sioift,  of  the  date  of  Feb.  S(h,  1838. 

"I  remember  most  distinctly  to  have  heard  Mr.  Evarts  say, 
that  his  Board  had  received  from  the  United  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society,  such  an  amount  of  property  as  ought  to  prevent  any 
mention  ever  being  made  of  the  debts  transferred,  as  bein^r  a 
burden." — Qu  of  at  ion  from  a  letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller, 
dated  Jan.  Qth,  1838. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  87 

The  American  Board,  therefore  acted  wisely,  and  in 
perfect  accordance  with  its  own  long  cherished  pur- 
poses and  hopes,  in  assuming  these  missions;  al- 
though the  terms  which  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  had  proposed 
and  agreed  to,  were  not  sanctioned  but  refused,  by 
the  judicatories  which  had  a  perfect  and  acknow- 
ledged right  to  reject  them. 

It  is  believed  that  the  only  heathen  mission  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  which  was  not  transferred  to 
the  American  Board,  along  with  those  already  men- 
tioned, was  one  which  was  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Sjaiod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia ;  namely  : 

A  MISSION  AMONG  THE   CHICKASAW  INDIANS. 

This  Synod,  it  appears,  sometime  previously  to 
the  transfer,  had  established  a  mission  among  the 
Chickasaws ;  whose  country  was  included  within  the 
chartered  limits  of  the  states  of  Mississippi  and  Ala- 
bama. The  Rev.  T.  C.  Steward  was  employed  for 
some  time  as  a  stated  Missionary  among  these  In- 
dians. A  promising  school  was  opened,  and  consi- 
derable anxiety  was  awakened  among  the  Pagans  for 
the  instruction  of  their  children.  But  the  want  of 
authentic  information  prevents  the  insertion  in  this 
sketch  of  farther  details,  in  regard  to  this  mission ; 
except  that  it  appears  to  have  been  resigned  to  the 
American  Board  in  the  year  1828. 


88 


PRESBYTERIAN     3IIS3IONS 


When  the  General  Assembly  re-organized  their 
Board  of  Missions,  in  1S2S,  they  declared,  as  has 
been  shown,  that  it  was  authorized  to  conduct  Fo- 
reign as  well  as  Domestic  Missions ;  and,  for  a  time, 
both  these  objects  commanded  the  earnest  attention 
of  the  Executive  Committee.  A  well  qualified  ex- 
ploring  Tnissionary  to  Greece  was  appointed,  and 
for  a  short  time  sanguine  hopes  were  entertained  that 
he  would  fulfil  his  appointment.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, he  declined  it,  on  considerations  which  were  sa- 
tisfactory to  the  Committee.  An  attempt  w^as  sub- 
sequently made,  to  establish  a  mission  among  the 
Chippeway  Indians.  An  exploring  agent  was  ap- 
pointed, in  whose  behalf  governmental  influence  was 
obtained,  and  who  spent  more  than  a  year  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Board.  But  it  was  found  that  the  Ame- 
rican Board,  by  extending,  as  was  then  in  contem- 
plation, the  operations  of  its  establishment  at  Macki- 
naw, could  most  advantageously  take  cognizance  of 
this  field  of  missionary  enterprise,  and  to  that  Board 
the  field  was  accordingly  resigned.  By  this  time, 
the  prosecution  of  domestic  missions  had  become  so 
extensive  and  onerous,  that  the  opinion  generally  ob- 
tained, among  the  friends  of  the  General  Assembly's 
Board,  that  till  a  separate  institution  should  be  orga- 
nized in  the  Prcs])yterian  church,  for  the  sole  ma- 
nagement of  Foreign  Missions,  the  existing  institu- 
tion would  better  confine  its  measures  to  the  Home 
department;  and  leave  Foreign  operations  to  the 
American  Board,  with  which  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  was  now  co-operating. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  89 


MISSION    TO    BUENOS    AYRES. 

It  was,  for  a  time,  confidently  expected  by  the 
friends  of  Orthodox  piety  in  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  that  the  Revolution  in  South 
America  would  open  a  door  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Protestant  religion;  and  sanguine  hopes  were 
entertained  of  the  happy  effects  that  were  speedily 
to  Insult,  from  the  free  circulation  of  the  Bible,  and 
the  unobstructed  labours  of  missionaries,  in  that  ex- 
tensive region;  in  which  the  Romish  superstition 
had  so  long  and  so  oppressively  prevailed.  Time 
and  experience,  if  they  have  not  entirely  blasted 
these  hopes  and  expectations,  have  proved  that  the 
period  at  which  they  are  to  be  realized  is  yet  future. 
What  was  done  by  the  Presbyterian  church  for  the 
propagation  of  evangelical  truth,  may  be  learned 
from  the  following  extract  from  the  Christian  Advo- 
cate, for  the  month  of  January,  1828.  The  article 
from  which  our  extract  is  made,  partakes  of  the  de- 
lusion then  prevalent,  and  is  headed — "  Jl  Presby- 
tery in  Buenos  Ayres.^^  The  Editor  says — '^  We 
have  before  us  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Theophilus 
Parvin  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  dated 
'Buenos  Ay  res,  April  17th,  1827  :'  Mr.  Parvin 
was  ordained  as  a  missionary  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  in  January  1826  ;  and  since  that  time 
has  been  enrolled  as  one  of  the  members  of  that 
body.  About  a  month  after  his  ordination,  he  sailed 
for  Buenos  Ayres  with  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
8* 


90  PRESBYTERIAN     3I1SSI0NS. 

Rodney,  the  American  minister,  who  died  at  that 
place.  Early  in  the  following  April,  as  appears  by 
the  letter  before  us,  he  arrived  in  safety  at  the  place 
of  his  destination.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  dili- 
gently occupied  in  missionary  labours.  Having  de- 
termined entirely  to  support  himself,  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  time  has  been  unavoidably  spent  in 
teaching.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres, 
he  received  the  appointment  of  '  Professor  of  Greek 
and  English/  in  the  University  established  in  that 
city.  This  appointment  he  resigned  last  Autumn; 
finding  that  he  could  dispense  with  its  emoluments, 
and  desirous  to  secure  more  time  for  ministerial  la- 
bours. His  chief  reliance  for  support  at  present,  is 
on  a  flourishing  Academy  which  he  has  established, 
containing  at  the  last  account,  about  fifty  scho- 
lars. He  has  also  established,  in  concert  with  Miss 
McMullin,  who  accompanied  him  from  the  United 
States  for  the  purpose,  a  promising  Female  Academy, 
to  which  some  of  his  attention  is  devoted.  While 
these  institutions  afibrd  an  income  adequate  to  all 
the  wants  of  his  family,  they  are  in  fact  directly  sub- 
servient to  his  missionary  views.  They  promote 
knowledge,  and  prepare  for  the  reception  of  evan- 
gelical instruction.  He  has  preached  regularly,  first 
in  his  Academy,  and  lately  in  a  large  room,  selected 
and  fitted  up  for  the  purpose.  A  chapel  is  greatly 
needed,  and  efforts  are  making  to  prepare  one.  The 
Lord's  Supper  has  been  administered  three  times  a 
year — the  first  time  to  eight  communicants,  the 
second  to  six,  the  third  to  nine,  and  the  last  time 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  91 

to  thirteen.  He  has  administered  the  sacrament  of 
Baptism  only  in  three  instances.  He  had,  at  the 
time  of  writing  his  letter,  celebrated  marriage  six 
times,  A  Bible  Society  and  a  Missionary  Society 
have  been  established,  which  meet  monthly.  A 
flourishing  Sabbath  School,  of  one  hundred  and 
s^ven  scholars,  is  also  established — it  is  well  at- 
tended and  increasing.  The  foregoing  statement  is 
derived  from  Mr.  Parvin's  communication  to  the 
Presbytery,  in  connexion  with  a  private  letter 
which  we  have  seen  from  Mr.  Torrey.  Mr.  Par- 
vin's  letter  concludes  as  follows ;  '  In  conclusion,  I 
am  happy  in  being  able  to  say,  that  in  my  academi- 
cal and  clerical  labours,  I  have  for  the  last  six  weeks, 
been  favoured  with  the  valuable  services  of  the  Rev. 
William  Torrey.  In  consequence  of  his  arrival,  and 
the  settlement  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  of  Scotland, 
in  a  village  of  Scotch  emigrants,  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  city^  we  shall  probably  find  it  expedient,  as 
soon  as  we  can  receive  dismissions  from  the  Presby- 
teries to  which  we  belong,  to  form  a  Presbytery  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  I  have  therefore  to  solicit  my  dis- 
mission from  your  reverend  body,  with  a  view  to 
connect  myself  with  a  Presbytery  to  be  organized 
here.  The  great  difficulty  of  maintaining  any  in- 
tercourse with  those  at  home,  because  of  the  close 
blockade  of  our  port,  must  serve  as  my  apology  for 
not  having  forwarded,  some  months  since,  a  commu- 
nication of  a  nature  similar  to  the  present.'" 

In  consequence  of  the  information  contained  in 
the   letters   above   mentioned,   the   Board   of  Mis- 


92  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

sions  of  the  General  Assembly  was  convened,  when 
two  communications  from  Mr.  Torrey,  dated  August 
24th  and  25th,  were  also  submitted  for  considera- 
tion, by  the  members  to  whom  they  had  been  ad- 
dressed. It  appeared  that  Mr.  Torrey  was  very 
actively  and  usefully  employed  in  missionary  la- 
bours, but  that  he  needed  pecuniary  assistance.  A^- 
ter  serious  deliberation  on  the  whole  subject,  a  mi- 
nute was  made,  of  which  the  following  is  a  tran- 
script : 

"Letters  w^ere  read  from  Rev.  Messrs.  Parvin 
and  Torrey,  at  Buenos  Ayres,  in  South  America. 
Whereupon 

Resolved^  That  two  hundred  dollars  be  allowed 
for  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Torrey,^  and  that  Drs. 
Janeway,  Green,  and  Ely  be  a  committee  to  select 
and  recommend  a  suitable  person  as  a  missionary  to 
the  same  region."  The  Editor  of  the  Advocate 
afterwards  adds — ^' We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  state 
that  the  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  have 
the  prospect  of  engaging  a  promising  young  mission- 
ary, to  go  to  the  aid  of  his  brethren  at  Buenos 
Ay  res." 

Such  were  the  flattering  prospects  and  fond  antici- 

*  The  sum  here  mentioned,  was  carefully  expended,  in  the 
purchase  of  clothing  for  Mr.  Torrey,  Bibles,  and  other  books 
for  the  mission,  and  some  articles  of  furniture,  to  aid  in  fitting 
up  an  apartment  as  a  place  of  public  worship.  The  articles 
were  forwarded  and  arrived  in  safety.  It  is  belived  that  the 
communicants  mentioned  above,  consisted  of  the  mission  fami- 
ly and  other  strangers  from  Britain  and  the  United  States. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  93 

pations,  which  were  destined  to  terminate  in  utter 
disappointment.  A  particular  detail  of  the  unpro- 
pitious  circumstances  and  causes  which  occasioned 
the  unhappy  result,  it  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be 
tedious  to  specify.  The  amount  was — that  no  addi- 
tional missionary  could  at  that  time  be  engaged  to 
reinforce  the  establishment — the  female  teacher  was 
disappointed  in  her  expectations,  and  returned  to  the 
United  States — not  long  after,  Mr.  Parvin  buried 
his  wife,  lost  his  own  health,  which  he  never  fully 
recovered,  and  returned,  with  two  motherless  chil- 
dren, to  his  native  country — every  prospect  became 
increasingly  dark — no  Presbytery  was  ever  formed 
— and  the  mission  languished,  till  it  became  nearly, 
if  not  entirely  extinct.  Mr.  Brown,  it  is  believed, 
went  to  Scotland,  and  afterwards  returned,  and  is 
now  a  resident  of  Buenos  Ayres.  Mr.  Torrey,  it  is 
understood,  has  not  long  since  returned  to  the  Uni- 
ted States. 

But  the  failure  of  this  mission  might,  and  pro- 
bably would  have  been  repaired,  by  another,  better 
concerted  and  arranged,  had  it  not,  in  its  progress, 
and  by  similar  and  simultaneous  failures  of  other 
missionary  bodies,  shown  conclusively,  that  the 
causes  of  disappointment  were  deeply  seated,  in  the 
state  of  society  and  the  habits  of  the  people.  In  a 
word,  the  engrossing  concerns  and  scenes  of  a  re- 
volutionary state,  the  prevalence  of  infidelity  among 
men  of  station  and  liberal  knowledge,  the  general 
and  total  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  religious  liberty, 


94  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

the  strong  remaining  influence  of  bigotry  and  super- 
stition in  the  mass  of  the  people,  cherished  by  the 
deadly  hostility  to  reformation  of  the  larger  part  of 
the  popish  priesthood,  rendered  it  indubitable  that 
changes  for  the  better  must  be  the  work  of  time, 
be  produced  by  gradual  advances,  and  by  the  im- 
provement of  an  ignorant  and  deeply  depraved  popu- 
lation. 


It  was  matter  of  painful  regret  to  many  Presbyte- 
rians, both  lay  and  clerical,  that  for  several  years  in 
succession,  the  church  of  their  preference,  although 
both  large  and  wealthy,  had  in  its  distinctive  charac- 
ter, no  part  whatever,  so  far  as  the  heathen  were  con- 
cerned, in  carrying  into  effect  the  Saviour's  parting 
command  to  his  disciples,  "to  teach  all  nations — to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  There  seem 
to  have  been  three  sections,  or  classes — not  to  de- 
nominate them  parties — in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
that  differed  in  their  sentiments,  relative  to  the  most 
eligible  method  of  prosecuting  Foreign  Missions — 
all  admitting  that  the  duty  of  sustaining  them  was 
important,  and  obligatory  on  all  Christians.  One  of 
these  classes  considered  an  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion, if  not  essential,  yet  of  such  moment,  that  they 
would  countenance  no  missionary  institution  that 
was  otherwise  constituted  ;  and  therefore  would  con- 
tribute  nothing,   or   very   little,   to   the    American 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  95 

Board.^  A  second  class  agreed  with  the  first,  in 
thinking  that  an  ecclesiastical  organization  was  clear- 
ly the  most  scriptural,  and  in  every  view  the  most 
desirable.  Some  of  them  even  declared,  that  they 
were  penetrated  with  grief  and  shame,  at  seeing  the 
Presbyterian  church  so  regardless  both  of  duty  and 
reputation,  as  to  neglect  to  form,  and  zealously  and 
effectually  maintain,  a  missionary  establishment  of 
her  own ;  and  they  affirmed  that  they  did  believe  the 
frown  of  Zion's  king  was  resting,  and  would  con- 
tinue to  rest  on  this  Church,  so  long  as  she  continued 
disobedient  to  his  express  command.  Still  they 
maintained,  that  till  the  Presbyterian  church  could 
be  roused  to  proper  action  on  this  important  subject, 
for  which  they  declared  they  would  never  cease  to 
pray  and  labour,  it  was  far  better  to  co-operate  with 
the  American  Board,  than  to  remain  wholly  inactive, 
and  do  nothing  in  the  great  cause  of  evangelizing  the 
world.  They  remarked,  that  although  the  Ameri- 
can Board  was  a  secular  institution  in  its  corporate 

*  When  the  spirit  of  missions  was  first  awakened  in  this  coun- 
try, by  what  had  been  done  and  was  still  doing-  in  Britain,  few 
had  any  digested  and  systematic  opinions  on  the  subject.  The 
desire  was  to  promote  missionary  effort,  in  any  way  that  appeared 
practicable.  Hence  it  happened,  (as  in  such  cases  it  will  al- 
ways happen,)  that  examination,  experience,  and  observation, 
led  many  to  change  both  opinion  and  action,  in  regard  to  the 
conduct  of  missions.  No  inconsiderable  number  of  those  who 
for  a  time  contributed  to  the  American  Board,  changed  their 
views,  and  became  unwilling  to  patronize  any  institution  of  a 
missionary  kind,  which  had  not  an  ecclesiastical  organization 
and  responsibility. 


96  PRESBYTERIAN     3IISSI0NS. 

character,  and  was  brought  into  existence  by  the 
agency,  and  for  the  special  accommodation  of  con- 
gregational and  independent  churches,  yet,  for  the 
present,  all  its  concerns  were  conducted  by  men  of 
decided  piety ;  that  their  missionaries  also  were  emi- 
nently good  and  devoted  men,  and  that  among  them 
were  numbered  some  of  the  youth  trained  at  our 
own  Theological  Seminaries;  that  the  measures  of 
the  Board  were,  for  the  most  part,  prudently  taken 
and  well  conducted;  that  its  liberality  was  such  as  to 
enrol  several  Presbyterians  among  its  corporate,  and 
many  among  its  honorary  members ;  and  that  God 
had  crowned  the  missions  of  this  Board  with  great 
success.  These  things  considered,  the  Presbyterians 
of  this  class  avowed  their  determination  to  co-ope- 
rate, cheerfully  and  zealously,  with  the  American 
Board,  till  an  organization  which  they  could  fully 
approve,  should  be  formed  in  their  own  Church. 
Accordingly,  those  of  this  class  who  were  members 
of  the  Board,  often  attended  its  annual  meetings,  and 
took  an  interested  and  active  part  in  all  its  proceed- 
ings ;  contributed,  and  encouraged  others  to  contri- 
bute liberally,  to  its  funds ;  countenanced  and  assisted 
its  agents;  often  advocated  its  cause  in  Synods,  Pres- 
byteries, and  congregations;  voted  in  the  General 
Assembly  in  favour  of  recommending  it  to  the  kind- 
ness and  patronage  of  the  Churches  ;  and  manifested 
toward  it  every  act  of  friendship  in  their  power, 
short  of  taking  part  in  any  measure  for  formally  as- 
sociating the  Presbyterian  church  with  it,  as  one  of 
its  integral   and  constituent   parts ;  for  to  this,  they 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  97 

declared  they  were  decisively  and  irreconcilably  op- 
posed.* 

The  Southern .  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  com- 
posed of  the  Synods  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
East  Tennessee ;  and  the  Central  Board,  formed  by 
the  Synods  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and 
both  auxiliary  to  the  American  Board,  appear  to 
have  acted  on  the  general  principles  of  this  second 
class  of  Presbyterians — differing,  perhaps,  in  some 
shades  of  opinion. 

Both  these  Boards  are  now  looking  forward  to  the 
period,  when,  in  consistency  with  existing  engage- 

*  Many  individuals  of  this  second  class,  and  probably  of  the 
first  also,  besides  the  preference  which  they  gave  to  an  ecclesi- 
astical organization,  were  deliberately  of  the  opinion,  that  the 
union  of  the  whole  Presbyterian  church  with  the  American 
Board  in  missionary  concerns,  would  create  a  body  too  large 
for  useful  action,  especially  when  they  looked  forward  to  the 
magnitude  it  would  acquire  in  a  short  time  to  come.  They 
thought  that  the  American  Board  was  already  as  large  as  it 
ought  to  be ;  and  that  the  Presbyterian  church,  if  united,  would 
make  another  body  of  magnitude  sufficient  to  act  with  the  great- 
est advantage.  This  opinion  is  strongly  reinforced  by  a  publica- 
tion of  the  Baptist  missionaries  at  Serampore — the  result  of 
long  experience,  and  close  observation.  With  much  in  the 
same  strain,  they  say :  "  To  those  who  carefully  weigh  the  sub- 
ject, it  will  be  evident,  that  there  must  be  limits,  beyond  which 
a  missionary  body  can  scarcely  go,  without  almost  wholly 
losing  its  nature,  and  managing  its  concerns  in  quite  a  secular 
manner ;  and  when  this  is  the  case,  the  genuine  missionary 
spirit  evaporates,  and  with  it  the  hope  of  any  extensive  suc- 
cess." See  "  Thoughts  on  the  propagation  of  Christianity 
more  effectually  among  the  Heathen.'''' 
9 


98  PRE&BYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

ments,  they  may  formally  and  fully  co-operate  with 
the  Board  of  Foreign  JNlissions  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

There  was  a  third  class  of  Presbyterians,  who  were 
fully  of  the  opinion  that  no  separate  organization  was 
either  necessary  or  expedient  in  the  Presbyterian 
church;  that  every  dictate  of  duty,  interest,  and  a 
regard  to  economy,  in  the  expenditure  of  money  col- 
lected for  missionary  purposes,  urged  to  a  formal 
union,  or  amalgamation  of  interests  and  action  with 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions ;  and  that  the  General  Assembly  ought  to 
adopt  the  most  decisive  measures,  and  use  all  its  in- 
fluence, to  bring  out  the  whole  strength  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  in  support  of  the  measures  and  ope- 
rations of  that  Board.  The}^  pleaded,  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Presbyterian  population  was  ar- 
dently attached  to  this  Board,  constantly  received 
and  highly  prized  its  publications,  contributed  cheer- 
fully to  its  funds,  and  would  be  better  pleased  with  a 
formal  connexion  with  it,  than  with  any  other  mea- 
sure or  arrangement  that  could  be  adopted,  in  regard 
to  this  subject.  Many  of  those  who  composed  this 
class,  if  not  complete  Congregationalists  in  senti- 
ment, had  strong  congregational  leanings;  and  others, 
whose  opinions  were  more  strictly  Presbyterian, 
thought  that  there  ought  to  be  no  objection  to  a  full 
concert  in  action,  with  a  Board  in  which  there  were 
so  many  members  both  of  the  clergy,  and  the  laity,  of 
their  own  denomination. — If  good  was  done,  they 
thought  it  a  matter  of  no  importance,  whether   it 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  99 

were  done  by  a  secular  or  an  ecclesiastical   organi- 
zation. 

It  was  this  class  of  Presbyterians  that  attempted, 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  1826,  to  obtain  the  adop- 
tion of  all  the  terms  which  had  been  agreed  upon 
with  the  American  Board,  by  the  Commissioners  of 
the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  when  a 
transfer  was  to  be  made  of  the  concerns  and  pro- 
perty of  the  latter  Board  to  the  former.  In  this  at- 
tempt, it  has  been  seen,  they  failed.  The  attempt, 
however,  was  renewed  in  1831;  when  a  Committee 
of  conference  with  the  American  Board  was  appoint- 
ed, with  direction  to  report  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  following  year  (1832).  This  report  was  madie 
accordingly,  and  contained  a  long  and  elaborate  state- 
ment, setting  forth  the  many  reasons  and  considera- 
tions, which  should  induce  the  General  Assembly,  as 
the  representation  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination, 
to  enter  into  a  formal  agreement  to  co-operate  with 
the  American  Board,  without  attempting  any  other 
organization  for  the  prosecution  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions; and  endeavouring  to  obviate  the  objections 
which  might  be  urged  against  such  a  measure.*  But 
the  Assembly  again  acted  as  they  had  done  in  1826. 


*The  writer  was  present  when  this  report  was  read,  and  it 
commanded  all  his  attention.  Not  being  able  to  obtain  an  in- 
spection of  the  report,  he  has  been  obliged  to  make  the  state- 
ment of  its  purport  from  memory.  In  preparing  most  of  the 
statements  of  this  sketch,  he  has  had  his  authorities  before  him ; 
and  has  felt  regret  whenever  it  has  been  otherwise. 


100      PRESBYTERIAN  MISSIONS. 

The  short  minute  adopted  on  the  subject,  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Thursday  morning;,  May  31. — The  report  was 
taken  up,  and  after  some  discussion,  the  following 
resolution  was  adopted,  viz : 

"  Resolved,  That  while  the  Assembly  would  ex- 
press no  opinion  in  relation  to  the  principles  con- 
tained in  the  report,  they  cordially  recommend  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  to  the  affection  and  patronage  of  their 
Churches.'^ 

Thus  it  appears  that  till  1S36,  there  was  never  a 
General  Assembly  in  which  the  friends  of  a  formal 
union  of  the  Presbyterian  church  w4th  the  American 
Board  had  influence  enough  to  obtain  an  act  of  the 
supreme  judicatory,  in  favour  of  such  a  measure. 
Nor  indeed  was  such  a  measure  formally  adopted  by 
the  Assembly  of  1836;  although  what  was  actually 
done,  was  calculated,  and  probably  intended,  to  make 
the  Presbyterian  church  entirely  subservient,  in  its 
missionary  concerns,  to  that  Board. 

Of  the  three  classes  of  Presbyterians  that  have 
been  mentioned,  the  two  latter,  it  appears,  co-ope- 
rated cheerfully  and  liberally  with  the  American 
Board,  during  the  period  in  which  there  was  no 
missionary  organization  in  the  church  of  which  they 
were  members.  To  this  co-operation,  a  portion  of 
the  efficiency  and  extensive  success  of  the  American 
Board  ought,  in  justice,  to  be  attributed.  Its  amount, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  calculate,  and  the  plan  of  this 
sketch,  does  not  require  that  an  estimate  should  be 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  101 

attempted.  The  praise  of  all  success  belongs  to  God 
alone,  whatever  instrumentality  he  may  use  and  hon- 
our in  its  production.  The  present  writer  has  always 
commended  the  wisdom  generally  displayed,  in  the 
plans  and  operations  of  that  Board,  and  the  zeal  and 
indefatigable  perseverance  with  which  they  have 
been  executed.  Till  the  formation  of  the  Western 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  his  mite  of  influence  and 
pecuniary  contribution  was  given  to  it ;  and  he  has 
never  ceased  to  pray  for  its  success,  and  to  rejoice  in 
its  usefulness  and  prosperity. 


(  102  ) 


THE    WESTERN    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY     j 

SOCIETY.  I 

I 

In  the  month  of  November  1S31,  the  Synod  of     | 

Pittsburgh — always  the  most  forward  and  active  Sy-     | 

nod  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  missionary  enter-     ' 

prise  and  effort — formed  the  Western  Foreign  Mis-     ! 

sionary  Society.     The  origin^  and  the  general  nature 

and  design  of  this  Institution,  may  be  learned  from 

the  following  extracts  from  the  Circular  letter,  issued 

immediately  after   its  formation,  and  from   the  first     \ 

four  articles  of  its   Constitution.     Havino;   declared     I 

•  I 

that  the  Society  "  did  not  originate  in  any  feeling  of 

jealousy  or  dissatisfaction  with  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions— ^in  any  de- 
sire to  diminish  its  resources  or  impair  that  measure 
of  public  confidence  which  it  certainly  and  justly  en-     I 
joys" — the  Circular  proceeds  as  follows  :  | 

"As  there  is  much  diversity  and  fluctuation  of  opi-     | 
nion  in  the  General  Assemblies  of  our  church,  as  to      , 
the  propriety  of  undertaking  Foreign  Missions  at  all, 
or  in  union  with  Domestic,  it  is  conceived  that  no 
existing  Board  does,  in  fact,  fill  that  place  which  is      \ 
here  proposed,  and  which  seems  requisite  to  a  com- 
plete enlistment  of  the  charities  and  prayers  of  the      i 
whole  Presbyterian  church,  in  the  great  and  glorious      I 
work  of  Missions  to  the  heathen.     The  practice  of     j 
designating   those  who  are  to  watch  over  her  in-      ; 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  103 

terests,  and  dispense  her  charities  through  her  regu- 
larly constituted  judicatories,  has  so  long  existed  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is  so  interwoven  with 
her  form  of  government,  that  its  absence  from  such 
stated  plans  of  evangelical  effort  as  the  Missionary 
cause  presents,  does  very  naturally  produce  dissatis- 
faction and  lukewarmness  in  some,  and  an  almost 
entire  neglect  of  the  great  object  in  others.  Such, 
accordingly,  has  been  the  fact,  to  a  great  extent,  in 
the  Middle  and  Western  States,  and  nothing  but  a 
plan  which  recognizes  the  church,  in  her  very  or- 
ganization, as  a  society  for  Missions  to  the  heathen, 
and  which  presents  such  a  kind  of  Presbyterial  re- 
presentation, and  supervision,  as  gives  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal responsibility  to  her  agents,  can,  it  is  believed, 
ever  fully  bring  up  her  Presbyteries  and  churches 
'  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty/  The 
obvious  want  of  such  an  arrangement,  felt  more 
deeply  here  than  in  some  other  parts  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  led  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  at  its 
late  sessions,  to  move  in  this  business ;  partly  from 
the  belief  that,  under  existing  circumstances,  it  would 
be  better  for  some  Synod  which  could  be  nearly  or 
quite  harmonious  in  its  measures,  to  undertake  the 
plan,  than  for  the  General  Assembly  to  attempt  it ; 
and  partly  from  the  conviction  that  a  central  loca- 
tion would  better  suit  distant  parts  of  the  country, 
and  that  this,  near  one  of  the  Theological  Seminaries 
of  the  church,  and  yet  unembarked  actively  in  any 
great  public  enterprise,  would,  at  least  for  a  time,  an- 
swer a  better  purpose,  especially  for  Western  Mis- 


104       PRESBYTERIAN  MISSIONS. 

sions,  than  any  other.  Aside  from  such  a  degree  of 
Synodical  supervision  as  seemed  necessary  to  the 
very  existence  of  such  a  society,  you  will  see  by 
examining  the  accompanying  constitution,  that  it  is 
strictly  a  Presbyterial  arrangement,  and  gives  the 
management  of  the  whole  concern  to  those  from 
whom  the  resources  are  to  be  drawn.  It  aims  at 
uniting  those  portions  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
which  prefer  such  a  plan  of  operation,  in  a  new, 
earnest,  and  persevering  endeavour,  to  fulfil  the  duty 
which  we  owe  to  the  heathen  of  our  own  and  foreign 
lands;  and  of  imparting  to  our  church  judicatories  as 
such,  a  due  sense  of  responsibility,  and  such  a  Mis- 
sionary impulse  as  these  eventful  times  imperiously 
require.  If  the  undertaking,  owned  and  blessed  of 
God,  meets  the  friendly  consideration  of  our  church- 
es and  Presbyteries,  it  will  be  subject  to  their  con- 
trol, and  can,  if  they  wish  it,  be  transferred,  as  to  the 
centre  of  its  operations,  to  whatever  part  of  the 
church  they  please.  In  the  mean  time,  dear  bro- 
ther, let  us  be  up  and  doing.  We  are  anxious  to 
despatch,  if  possible,  this  very  year,  a  Mission  to 
Central  Africa,  or  some  still  more  eligible  unoccu- 
pied field  on  the  Eastern  continent;  and  we  ^vould  be 
glad  at  the  same  time  to  institute  a  PVeste7*?i  Mis- 
sion, so  soon  as  we  may  be  able  to  make  a  judicious 
selection  of  the  best  opening  for  such  an  effort.'' 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  105 


CONSTITUTION. 

"Article  1.  This  Society  shall  be  composed  of  the 
Ministers,  Sessions,  and  Churches  of  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburgh,  together  with  those  of  any  other  Synod 
or  Synods,  Presbytery  or  Presbyteries,  that  may 
hereafter  formally  unite  with  them,  and  shall  be 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  United  States. 

"  2.  The  objects  of  the  Society  shall  be  to  aid  in 
fulfilling  the  last  great  command  of  the  glorified  Re- 
deemer, by  conveying  the  Gospel  to  whatever  parts 
of  the  Heathen  and  antichristian  world  the  provi- 
dence of  God  may  enable  this  Societj?-  to  extend  its 
evangelical  exertions. 

"  3.  The  centre  of  its  operations  shall  be  the  city 
of  Pittsburgh,  at  least  until  such  times  as  the  Board 
of  Directors  shall  judge  that  the  interests  of  the  cause 
require  a  change  of  location,  which,  however,  shall 
never  be  efiected  without  the  consent  of  the  Synod 
of  Pittsburgh ;  and  in  the  event  of  such  a  change, 
then  the  special  provisions  of  a  Synodical  supervi- 
sion and  representation,  mentioned  in  this  constitu- 
tion, shall  be  transferred  to  the  General  Assembly, 
or  to  that  particular  Synod  within  whose  bounds  the 
operations  of  the  Society  shall  be  concentred. 

"  4.  The  general  superintendence  of  the  interests 
of  this  Society  shall  be  confided  to  a  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, to  be  appointed  in  the  following  manner,  to 
wit.     The  Synod  shall  elect,  at  the  present  time,  of 


106  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

persons  residing  in  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity,  six 
Ministers  and  six  Ruling  Elders,  whose  terms  of 
service  shall  be  so  arranged  that  those  of  two  Minis- 
ters and  two  Ruling  Elders  shall  expire  at  the  end 
of  one  year,  and  two  of  each  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
and  the  remaining  two  at  the  end  of  three  years,  and 
the  Synod  shall  ever  after  elect  annually  one-third  of 
this  number,  or  two  Ministers  and  two  Ruling  El- 
ders; and  in  the  event  of  a  renewal  of  the  charter  of 
the  Western  Missionary  Society,  so  amended  as  to 
meet  the  present  objects  of  this  Society,  then  the 
said  twelve  persons  herein  mentioned  shall  consti- 
tute, for  the  time  being,  the  trustees  and  legal  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Synod;  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  such 
trust  in  the  manner  which  may  be  specified  in  the 
said  charter.  2.  The  Synod  shall  also  elect  one 
Minister  and  one  Ruling  Elder,  from  each  of  the 
Presbyteries  now  composing  this  body,  the  one  half, 
or  four  Ministers  and  four  Elders,  to  be  chosen  for 
two  years,  and  the  remaining  four  for  one  year,  but 
after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service  for  which 
they  shall  be  severally  chosen,  this  election  shall  de- 
volve upon  the  Presbyteries  respectively;  and  the 
same  right  shall  be  extended  to  any  Presbytery  or 
Presbyteries,  which  may  hereafter  be  formed  within 
its  bounds.  3.  And  whenever  any  Presbytery  or 
Presbyteries  belonging  to  other  Synod  or  Synods, 
shall  become  regularly  united  with  this  Society,  by 
vote  and  actual  contribution  to  its  funds,  every  such 
Presbytery  shall  be  entitled,  in  like  manner,  to  the 
right  of  appointing  one  Minister  and  one  Ruling  El- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  107 

der,  to  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years,  leaving  it  to 
the  Board  of  Directors  so  to  fix  the  two  classes  as 
that  the  change  for  each  and  every  year  shall  be  as 
nearly  as  possible  equal  to  the  others;  and  these  per- 
sons so  appointed  shall  constitute  a  Board,  to  be 
styled  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Western  Fo- 
reign Missionary  Society,  and  the  said  Board  shall 
meet  annually  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the 
Tuesday  preceding  the  second  Thursday  in  May, 
at  3  o'clock  P.  M.  and  oftener  on  the  call  of  the 
President,  at  the  request  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee, or  on  that  of  any  three  other  members  of  the 
Board.  The  election  of  the  Board  of  Directors  shall 
be  made  by  ballot,  and  in  reference  to  those  to  be 
chosen  by  the  Synod,  the  rule  shall  be,  after  the  first 
election,  to  make  a  nomination  at  least  one  day  pre- 
vious to  that  on  which  the  choice  is  to  be  made/' 

The  remaining  four  articles  of  the  Constitution  re- 
late to  the  details  of  the  Society — the  choice  of  a 
President,  of  a  Vice-President,  of  honorary  Vice- 
Presidents,  and  honorary  Directors,  of  a  Correspond- 
ing and  Recording  Secretary,  of  a  Treasurer,  and  an 
Executive  Committee,  and  the  prescription  of  the  du- 
ties of  these  officers  and  agents  severally. 

The  Society,  when  first  organized  by  the  Synod, 
consisted  of  twenty-eight  directors ;  and  they  imme- 
diately chose  a  President,  Vice-President,  an  Execu- 
tive Committee,  consisting  of  five  clergymen  and 
four  laymen,  with  a  Corresponding  Secretary  and 
Treasurer.  The  Board  also,  agreeably  to  an  autho- 
rity granted  in  the  Constitution,  elected  at  the  first 


108  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

meeting,  fifteen  honorary  Vice-Presidents,  and  thir- 
teen honorary  Directors. 

It  is  due  to  the  Rev.  Elisha  P.  Swift,  the  first  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  this  Society,  to  state,  that  its 
origin  is  to  he  traced,  principally,  to  his  ardent  zeal 
in  the  missionary  cause,  and  to  his  views  of  the  im- 
portance of  an  institution  organized  in  the  manner 
exhibited  in  the  foregoing  documents.  He  submit- 
ted his  ideas  to  his  brethren  of  the  Synod,  by  whom, 
after  due  deliberation,  they  were  adopted.  He 
draughted  the  Constitution  and  wrote  the  circular 
letter,  and  on  him,  under  the  direction  and  cheerful 
co-operation  of  the  Executive  Committee,  rested  the 
principal  burden  of  labour  and  efibrt,  in  carrying 
into  effect  the  plan  of  the  Society.  He  resigned  for 
this  purpose  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  congregation, 
between  whom  and  himself  a  strong  and  tender  at- 
tachment existed;  and  devoted  all  his  time  and  facul- 
ties to  give  activity  and  efficiency  to  the  infant  insti- 
tution. Destitute  of  funds,  it  threatened  for  a  short 
period  to  languish;  but  it  soon  received  a  quickening 
impulse  from  the  liberal  donation  of  a  thousand  dol- 
lars from  Walter  Lowrie,  Esq.,*  then  the  Secretary 
of  the  Senate  of  the  United  Slates.     This  donation 


*  This  donation  was  made  in  a  manner  wliich,  for  a  conside- 
rable time,  left  the  donor  unknown.  But  the  secret  could  not 
ultimately  escape  detection  ;  and  as  it  is  no  longer  a  secret,  the 
writer  has  thought  it  right  and  proper  to  record  this  act  of  libe- 
ral ity — without  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Lowrie — in  this  histori- 
cal sketch. 


''^^  PllESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  109 

equalled  in  amount  the  annual  salary  of  the  Corres- 
ponding Secretary,  and  was  appropriated  by  the 
donor  to  that  object ;  thus  freeing  him  from  all  im- 
putation of  seeking  emolument  for  himself,  while 
he  earnestly  solicited  pecuniary  contributions  to  the 
funds  of  the  Society. 

A  few  extracts  from  the  life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
W.  Barr,  by  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  So- 
ciety, published  in  March  1833,  will  give  a  general 
view  of  the  operations  of  the  Society,  during  the  first 
year  of  its  existence.  After  a  narrative  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Society,  the  Secretary  says : 

"  The  Board  of  Directors  then  appointed,  constitu- 
ted immediately  after  the  rising  of  Synod,  and  chose 
an  Executive  Committee,  by  which  regular  monthly 
meetings  have  been  ever  since  held.  The  Committe, 
in  their  first  Circular,  expressed  the  determination  to 
undertake  the  establishment  of  a  Mission  in  Western 
Africa,  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit;  and 
the  subject  was  laid  before  Societies  of  Inquiry  on 
Missions,  in  the  Theological  Seminaries  of  Princeton 
and  Allegheny-town.  Communications  were  soon 
after  received  from  Mr.  John  B.  Pinney,  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  Messrs. 
John  C.  Lowrie  and  William  Reed,  of  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  offering  to  place  themselves 
under  the  care  and  direction  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, as  missionaries  to  the  heathen.  *  *  *  * 
During  the  summer,  Mr.  Pinney,  whose  mind  had 
been  strongly  inclined  to  an  African  Mission,  be- 
10 


110  PRESBYTERIAN     3IISSI0NS. 

came  anxious  to  have  an  early  period  designated,  at 
which  the  undertaking  might  he  expected  to  com- 
mence; and  on  being  apprised  that  this  would  be 
done  as  soon  as  a  suitable  fellow-babourer  could  be 
provided  for  that  field,  he  submitted  the  solemn 
question  to  the  consideration  of  one  who  was  known 
to  have  devoted  himself  to  the  work,  and  who  pos- 
sessed peculiar  qualifications  for  such  an  underta- 
king ;  this  person  was  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Barr." 

"  The  present  state  of  this  infant  society,  to  which 
a  number  of  Presbyteries,  besides  those  originally 
included,  have  given  the  promise  of  their  efficient 
co-operation  during  the  past  year,  may  be,  in  part, 
learned  from  the  subjoined  statement  of  its  mission- 
ary arrangements  : 

MISSIONS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

"  Since  its  organization,  the  Board  has  received 
under  its  care,  seven  missionarses,  besides  two  or 
three  assistants,  intended  for  the  western  mission. 
These  have  been  distributed  in  the  following 
manner : 

"1.  To  Western  Jlfrica,  two.  Rev.  Messrs.  John 

B.  Pinncy  and  Joseph  W.  Barr. 

"  2.    To  Northern  India,  three.     Messrs.  John 

C.  Lowrie  and  William  Reed,  two  of  these  brethren, 
are  expected  to  sail  from  this  country  for  Calcutta, 
about  the  1st  of  May. 

"  3.  To  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi,  two. 
One  of  these   brethren  is  expected   to  proceed,  in 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  Ill 

company  with  some  other  person,  during  the  ensu- 
ing summer,  to  the  site  of  the  proposed  establish- 
merit,  and  make  preparations  for  the  reception  of  the 
other  members,  in  the  following  autumn. 

"  To  Western  and  eventually  Central  Jifrica, 
this  society  has  from  the  beginning  looked,  as  one  of 
the  principal  fields  of  its  intended  operations.  To 
that  benighted  land  it  consecrated  its  first  efi'orts: 
and  all  the  information  which  has  been  since  re- 
ceived, has  but  tended  to  increase  its  desire  to  draw, 
in  a  special  manner,  the  attention  of  American  Chris- 
tians, and  of  young  men  devoted  to  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions, to  that  long  neglected  and  interesting  part  of 
the  globe." 

Keeping  in  view  the  compendious  nature  of  this 
work,  the  several  missions  of  the  Society  now  in 
contemplation  will  be  noticed,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  were  sent  out;  and  the  history  of  each  will  be 
continuously  sketched,  till  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Board  in  October  1837. 

MISSION  TO    WESTERN   AFRICA. 

From  the  above  quotation  it  appears  that  Central 
Africa  was  contemplated,  as  ultimately  the  principal 
field  in  which  this  mission  was  expected  to  operate; 
and  where  probably  its  chief  seat  would  be  located. 
In  order  to  this,  however,  it  was  necessary  that  the 
Society  should  have  an  establishment  on  the  western 
coast,  to  which  its  supplies  might  be  sent,  by  which  a 
communication  might  be  kept  up  with  the  Society  at 


112  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

home,  and  where  the  missionaries  destined  to  the  in- 
terior might  reside,  till  their  acclimation  should  have 
taken  place.  Such  were  the  original  views  of  the  So- 
ciety; views  which  are  not  yet  relinquished,  notwith- 
standing the  severe  trials  with  which  God,  in  his 
holy  sovereignty,  has  seen  meet  hitherto  to  exercise 
the  faith,  patience,  and  perseverance  of  his  people. 

JVIessrs.  John  B.  Pinney  and  Joseph  W.  Barr, 
w^ere,  as  already  stated,  the  first  missionaries  desig- 
nated to  Africa.  They  were  both  from  the  Theolo- 
gical Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  both  made  a  volun- 
tary offer  of  themselves  for  this  hazardous  mission. 
They  were  ordained  together,  October  12th  1832, 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  specially  called 
for  the  purpose.  Their  beloved  professors,  Drs.  Alex- 
ander and  Miller,  by  invitation  of  the  Presbytery, 
took  the  principal  parts  of  the  ordination  service, 
which  was  numerously  attended  in  the  sixth  Presby- 
terian church,  and  pervaded  by  a  deep  solemnity. 
The  vessel  in  which  they  were  to  go  to  Liberia,  was 
to  sail  from  Norfolk  in  Virginia,  about  the  close  of 
the  current  month.  Thither,  therefore,  a  few  days 
after  their  ordination,  they  hastily  repaired,  having 
taken  a  most  solemn  and  affecting  farewell  of  their 
Philadelphia  friends,  in  a  public  meeting  called  for 
the  purpose.  They  arrived  in  Norfolk  on  the  23d 
of  October,  and  found  that  the  vessel  in  which  their 
passage  was  taken,  would  not  sail  till  the  5th  of  the 
following  month.  In  the  intervening  days,  with  a 
view  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  mission,  Mr. 
Barr  visited  Richmond  and  Pctersburgh.     Having 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  113 

made  arrangements  in  the  latter  place  for  a  public 
missionary  meeting,  to  be  attended  by  himself  on  a 
Tuesday,  he  returned  to  preach  at  Richmond  on  the 
preceding  Sabbath.  But  the  time  had  arrived  at 
which  he  was  to  preach  no  more.  A  friend  who 
was  with  him  in  his  last  hours,  wrote  and  published 
an  interesting  account  of  his  death,  from  which  our 
limits  will  permit  us  to  give  only  the  following  ex- 
tracts : 

"  At  nine  o'clock  on  Saturday  night,  he  was  appa- 
rently in  perfect  health. — We  passed  the  evening 
with  him,  in  company  with  a  few  friends  of  mis- 
sions, who  felt  deeply  interested  in  the  enterprise  on 
which  he  was  about  to  embark.  He  was  slightly  in- 
disposed, as  he  afterwards  stated,  when  he  retired  to 
his  chamber  for  the  night.  About  one  o'clock,  he 
was  taken  violently  ill  of  cholera.  Able  physicians 
were  immediately  called  in,  and  the  usual  remedies 
administered;  but  in  vain — his  Lord  and  Master  had 
called  for  him.  The  progress  of  his  disease  was  so 
rapid  as  to  baffle  the  efforts  of  medical  skill — and  at 
3  o'clock  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  he  was  released  from 
his  sufferings,  and  admitted,  we  trust,  into  the  rest 
which  the  Lord  has  prepared  for  his  people. 

"  It  will  be  consolatory  to  liis  distant  friends,  and 
to  the  young  ministers  who  were  recently  his  fellow 
students,  to  know  that  he  appeared  to  be  perfectly 
resigned  to  this  mysterious  stroke  of  Providence. 
Though  his  heart,  filled  with  compassion  for  the  pe- 
rishing, was  fixed  on  the  v/ork  of  missions  in  Africa, 
to  which  he  had  dedicated  his  life — yet  he  was  wil- 
10* 


114  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

ling  to  leave  it  and  to  die.  He  discovered  no  alarm 
at  the  approach  and  near  prospect  of  death.  The 
summons,  though  sudden  and  unexpected,  did  not 
find  him  unprepared.  On  being  asked  by  the  writer 
concerning  the  state  of  his  mind,  he  expressed  with 
earnestness  his  confidence  in  God  and  submission  to 
his  will,  adding — "  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.^'  Here  rested  his  hope,  on  the  Rock 
of  Ages — and  it  sustained  him  in  the  hour  of  trial. 
He  repeatedly  expressed  the  same  unshaken  trust  in 
the  Lord,  to  other  Christian  brethren,  w^ho  attended 
him  during  his  short  illness.  Death  to  him  was  a 
vanquished  enemy.  In  the  near  view  of  eternity  he 
could  pray  in  the  language  of  the  apostle — ^*  Even 
so,  come  Lord  Jesus." 

Mr.  Barr  was  a  youth  of  great  promise,  and  sel- 
dom has  a  death  been  more  lamented  than  his.  It  left 
his  beloved  missionary  brother,  Mr.  Pinney,  without 
a  companion  for  the  Africui  Mission,  and  rendered  it 
questionable  whether  it  were  expedient,  or  even  law- 
ful, for  him  to  go  alone,  on  the  perilous  enterprize  in 
which  both  had  embarked.  But  having  waited  till 
the  month  of  January  following,  without  any  one  of- 
fering to  accompany  him,  and  all  his  arrangements 
for  departure  being  made,  his  zeal  in  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  engaged  determined  him  to  embrace  an 
opportunity  which  offered,  and  to  sail  for  Liberia — 
in  hope  that  his  unaided  efforts  might  prove  an  en- 
couragement and  prepare  the  way  for  others  to  fol- 
low him.  After  a  prosperous  voyage,  he  arrived  at 
Monrovia  on  the  16th  of  February,  1833.     He  re- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  115 

mained  in  Africa  about  four  months  ;  and  during  this 
period  he  made  an  exploring  excursion  into  the  inte- 
rior, as  far  as  a  native  prince,  through  whose  country 
he  had  to  pass,  would  permit  him  to  proceed.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season,  he  found  that 
his  necessary  inactivity  in  Africa  during  its  continu- 
ance, would  be  more  expensive  than  a  voyage  home ; 
where  he  might  be  active  in  preaching,  and  in  endea- 
vouring to  obtain  associates  in  his  missionary  labours. 
He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of  July,  and 
his  motives  for  return  were  approved  by  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  Board.  By  information  re- 
ceived from  him,  the  Committee  were  enabled  to  se- 
lect two  stations,  whose  relative  situations,  both  as  to 
the  colony  and  the  interior  nations,  would  afford 
great  facility  for  disseminating  the  Gospel  in  Africa. 
A  few  days  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Pinney, 
Messrs.  John  Cloud  and  Matthew  Laird,  who  had 
been  previously  received  under  the  care  of  the  Board, 
as  candidates  for  the  missionary  service,  were  desig- 
nated as  a  reinforcement  to  the  African  Mission. 
After  spending  some  time  in  visiting  the  Churches, 
these  missionaries,  together  with  Mrs.  Laird  and 
Mr.  James  Temple,  a  young  man  of  colour  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  who 
had  been  received  as  an  assistant,  were  regularly  or- 
ganized as  a  missionary  body  in  New  York,  in  Octo- 
ber ;  and  sailed  from  Norfolk  for  Liberia,  on  the  6th 
of  November  following.  About  the  same  time,  mis- 
sionaries from  two  other  societies  in  our  country, 
were  appointed  to  repair  to  the  western  coast  of  that 


116  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

benighted  continent.  Mr.  Pinney,  shortly  before 
his  embarkation  with  the  other  missionaries,  re- 
ceived from  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  the  appointment  of  temporary 
Agent  and  Governor  of  Liberia ;  and  after  consult- 
ing with  the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  other 
friends  of  the  Society,  it  was  judged  best  that  he 
should  consent  to  act  in  that  capacity,  till  a  permanent 
agent  could  be  obtained.  He  accordingly  performed 
the  duties  of  Colonial  agent  for  a  time,  expressing 
his  earnest  hope  that  other  arrangements  might 
soon  be  made  by  the  Colonization  Society. 

The  ship  Jupiter,  in  which  the  missionaries  em- 
barked, arrived  at  Monrovia  on  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber (1833),  after  a  passage  of  fifty-six  days.  The 
missionaries  were  enabled,  soon  after  their  arrival, 
to  rent  a  suitable  tenement  for  their  accommodation, 
during  their  stay  in  Monrovia,  and  all  the  members 
of  the  mission  soon  experienced,  in  succession,  the 
attacks  of  the  African  fever.  In  most  instances,  the 
fever  in  the  past  winter  had  been  uncommonly 
mild,  and  much  fewer  cases  of  mortality  had  occur- 
red among  the  emigrants  than  in  former  years;  from 
which  it  was  hoped  that  the  missionaries,  most  of 
whom  had  experienced  more  than  one  return  of  the 
disease,  would  have  little  to  fear  from  any  future  at- 
tack. But  these  cheering  prospects  of  a  safe  and 
easy  acclimation,  and  the  expectation  of  an  uncom- 
monly healthy  season  in  the  colony,  were  but  the 
precursors  of  a  mortality  which  thinned  the  ranks  of 
the  emigrants,  while  it  almost  entirely  extinguished 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  117 

the  hope  of  the  two  important  missions  which  had 
lately  arrived. 

Mr.  Cloud,  unwilling  to  lose  time  by  unneces- 
sary delay,  and  anxious  to  ascertain  the  prospects  at 
Cape  Mount,  a  place  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up 
the  coast,  before  the  arrangements  of  the  mission 
were  finally  made,  resolved,  (too  soon  it  would  ap- 
pear after  his  recovery,)  to  embrace  an  opportunity 
then  ofiering,  to  embark  on  board  a  vessel  going  up 
the  coast.  The  heat  of  the  weather — the  detention 
of  the  coaster  by  adverse  winds — an  incautious  ex- 
posure to  night  air,  and  the  yet  debilitated  state  of 
his  health,  brought  on  an  early  relapse,  which,  in 
the  absence  of  needful  medicines,  of  even  a  toler- 
ably comfortable  place  in  sickness,  or  a  kind  friend 
to  attend  him,  soon  prepared  the  way  for  cholera 
morbus,  and  the  transition  of  this  to  a  malignant 
dysentery.  When  the  vessel  returned  to  Monrovia, 
on  the  8th  of  April,  after  an  absence  of  ten  days,  he 
was  found  unable  to  walk  or  stand,  and  his  physi- 
cian, soon  after,  pronounced  it  impossible  to  arrest 
his  malady.  During  the  few  days  of  his  survival, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laird,  with  a  kindness  and  solicitude 
which  nothing  could  surpass,  waited  night  and  day 
around  the  bed  of  their  beloved  associate;  and  he 
had  no  sooner  expired  than  it  was  found  that  the  fa- 
tal malady  had  transferred  itself,  with  undiminished 
violence  to  them.  Mr.  Laird  was  first  attacked,  and 
his  wife,  though  a  woman  of  no  ordinary  faith  and 
fortitude,  sunk  before  the  prospect  of  another  victim, 
so  soon  to  be  made  in  the  person  of  her  husband. 


118  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

She  expired  on  the  third  of  May  ;  and  on  the  day 
following,  her  husband  closed  his  eyes  in  death. 

When  it  was  known  among  the  native  tribes 
around  Monrovia,  that  the  voice  of  those  kind  and 
devoted  friends,  who  had  come  to  them  with  the 
words  of  eternal  life,  was  to  be  heard  no  more,  they 
are  said  to  have  exhibited  a  regret  as  solemn  and 
striking  as  it  appeared  to  be  sincere;  and  who,  that 
considers  how  often  the  light  of  hope  for  this  un- 
fortunate people  has  but  reached  the  shores  of  Africa, 
and  then  died  away,  can  avoid  a  heartfelt  sympathy 
in  these  touching  expressions  of  a  conscious  bereave- 
ment ?  Of  these  three  courageous  and  devoted  ser- 
vants of  Christ,  this  is  not  the  place  to  speak  at  large. 
All  that  can  be  added  is,  that  they  carried  with  them 
from  their  native  shores  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
them,  and  entered  upon  their  perilous  undertaking 
with  great  apparent  desire  to  live  and  suffer  for  the 
good  of  the  heathen ;  and  that  they  met  the  early  and 
beclouded  end  of  their  enterprise,  in  the  possession  of 
a  calm  and  cheerful  anticipiation  of  immortal  felicity. 

Soon  after  the  decease  of  Mr.  Laird,  Mr.  Temple 
withdrew  from  the  mission  and  returned  to  the 
United  States  ;  while  Mr.  Finney,  temporarily  ful- 
filling the  duties  of  Colonial  Agent,  and  still  re- 
solving to  resume  and  prosecute  the  missionary 
work,  remained  at  his  post,  amidst  the  most  ap- 
palling scenes  of  dispersion  and  death,  among  those 
who  had  accompanied  him  on  his  i^turn  to  Afri- 
ca. After  having  conferred  important  good  upon 
the  colony  by  the  judicious  fulfilment  of  the  duties 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  119 

of  Colonial  Agent,  he  retired  from  that  office  and  re- 
sumed his  missionary  labours.  In  the  September 
following,  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  J.  F.  C.  Finley, 
who  had  repaired  to  Liberia  to  become  a  superinten- 
dent and  teacher  of  native  schools;  and  they  soon 
after  proceeded  to  erect  a  comfortable  mission  house 
at  Millsburgh,  and  open  a  small  farm  for  the  use  of 
the  mission — on  which  a  supply  of  coffee,  lime, 
grove,  and  orange  trees,  and  also  of  cassada,  sweet 
potatoes,  plantain,  and  banana,  were  planted.  Short- 
ly after,  however,  these  two  brethren,  exhausted  by 
disease,  and  no  longer  able  to  prosecute  their  la- 
bours, embarked  for  the  United  Sates ;  having  sus- 
pended all  further  efforts  for  the  present,  and  left  the 
mission  premises  and  property  in  Millsburgh,  in 
trust,  with  the  Baptist  missionaries,  by  whom  the 
house  has  since  been  occupied. 

From  the  departure  from  Africa  of  Messrs.  Pin- 
ney  and  Finley,  in  an  early  part  of  the  summer  of 
1835,  till  the  month  of  December  following,  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  destitute  of 
a  single  African  missionary.  Mr.  Finney  indeed 
was  still  living,  and  still  expressing  his  willingness, 
should  his  life  be  spared  and  his  health  restored, 
to  return  to  the  field  of  his  painful  and  hazardous  la- 
bours. But  his  constitution  was  so  shattered  that 
his  ultimate  restoration,  to  such  a  degree  of  firmness 
as  to  warrant  the  resumption  of  his  former  situation, 
was  exceedingly  problematical ;  and  it  may  here  be 
added,  that  although  his  health  is  considerably  im- 
proved, it  is  still  questionable  whether  he  ought  ever 


120  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

again  to  risk  an  exposure  to  a  climate  which  repeat- 
ed trials  have  demonstrated,  that  he  cannot  encoun- 
ter, without  the  most  imminent  peril  of  his  life  and 
usefulness. 

In  the  autumn  of  1S35,  Mr.  Ephraim  Titler,  a  co- 
loured man,  who  had  resided  for  some  time  in  Libe- 
ria, and  who,  with  his  w^ife,  had  been  employed,  un- 
der the  auspices  of  Mr.  Pinney,  in  teaching  a  school 
of  native  Africans  near  the  Tunk  river,  -was  re- 
ceived as  a  missionary  by  the  Western  Board.  He 
had  previously  spent  nearly  a  year  in  the  United 
States,  employing  as  much  time  as  he  could  com- 
mand, in  acquiring  the  knowledge  which  might  qua- 
lify him  to  receive  license  to  preach  the  Gospel.  He 
was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  with 
an  express  reference  to  his  return  as  a  missionary  to 
Africa,  in  the  month  of  September  1S36.  He  sailed 
from  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  on  the  31st  of 
December  following,  in  a  vessel  chartered  by  the 
American  Colonization  Society,  with  a  number  of 
emigrants  to  Liberia,  and  arrived  in  safety  at  Monro- 
via, in  the  following  February.  He  was  instructed  to 
commence  his  labours  at  Boblee,  a  station  selected  by 
Mr.  Pinncy,  as  having  every  Aicility  of  access  to  tlie 
natives,  and  owing  to  its  elevated  situation,  affording 
the  best  prospect  of  health.  He  has  located  himself 
at  that  place,  agreeably  to  his  instructions,  and  ac- 
cording to  communications  received  from  him,  with 
fair  prospects  of  success. 

In  closing  the  gloomy  account  of  this  African 
Mission,  it  is  believed  that  particular  attention  is  due 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  121 

to  what  is  said  on  the  subject,  in  the  fifth  and  last 
report  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
made  in  May  1837 — it  is  as  follows  : 

"  It  is  the  intention  of  the  Executive  Committee 
as  fast  as  they  can  procure  suitable  and  educated  co- 
loured men,  to  strengthen  and  enlarge  this  mission. 
The  employmont  of  coloured  men,  for  building  up 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  Africa,  the  Committee 
now  believe,  has  not  been  sufficiently  attended  to  by 
the  churches.  Their  own  inost  painful  experience, 
in  the  loss  of  their  first  missionaries ;  the  lamentable 
loss  of  lives,  among  the  missionaries  of  other  socie- 
ties, and  particularly  of  that  noble  institution,  the 
Church  of  England  Missionary  Society,  whose  per- 
severing and  untiring  efforts  in  behalf  of  Western 
Africa  exceed  all  others,  have  brought  the  subject  of 
some  other  agency  strongly  before  the  Committee. 
Of  their  own  missionaries  sent  to  this  field,  but  one 
survived,  and  he  was  forced  to  return  in  feeble 
health ;  and  of  the  German  Mission  to  Liberia,  all 
died  or  returned.  The  number  of  missionaries  and 
teachers,  sent  to  Sierra  Leone  by  the  Church  of 
England  Missionary  Society,  including  chaplains 
sent  by  the  government,  from  IS  12  to  1830,  was 
forty-four  men  and  thirty-five  women.  The  aggre- 
gate of  time  all  these  lived  in  that  colony  was 
208  years;  giving  as  an  average  two  and  one  half 
years  to  each ;  and  more  or  less  of  that  period,  was 
a  time  of  severe  sickness.  A  few  returned  home, 
but  even  then  their  labours  were  equally  lost  to  the 
mission.  The  average  of  two  and  one  half  years, 
11 


122  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

as  the  life  of  a  missionary,  is  a  very  painful  subject 
of  contemplation;  but  another  view  is  even  more  so. 
Of  these  seventy-nine  devoted  men  and  women. 
Jive  only  lived  from  twelve  to  seventeen  years — 
ten  from  five  to  eight  years — thirteen  from  two  to 
three  years,  2ii\(\  forty -four  died  the  first  year.  How 
important  for  every  Missionary  Society  to  profit,  by 
such  painful  and  distressing  experience  of  their  own 
and  sister  institutions. 

"  Now  in  the  providence  of  God,  an  agency  every 
way  suited  for  the  wants  of  Africa  exists  among  us, 
and  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church.  The  constitution 
of  the  coloured  men  of  the  Southern  States,  has  no- 
thing to  apprehend  from  the  climate  of  Africa.  If  the 
friends  of  our  Society  at  the  South,  will  select  pious, 
suitable  men,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Committee  to 
have  them  brought  to  the  North,  and  see  that  they 
are  properly  educated.  The  result  of  this  course, 
in  a  few  years,  would  be  a  full  supply  of  pious, 
educated,  and  qualified  missionaries,  for  this  long 
discouraging  field ;  and  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
Africa  "redeemed,  regenerated,  and  disenthralled," 
would  stretch  forth  her  hand  to  Him.  What  Chris- 
tian heart  would  not  rejoice  to  see  degraded,  perish- 
ing, bleeding  Africa,  a  nation  scattered  and  peeled, 
for  centuries  the  prey  of  the  man-stealer  and  the 
murderer,  rising  from  her  long  desolations,  and  re- 
joicing in  the  knowledge  of  redeeming  love. 

"  No  missionary  society  in  the  United  States,  can 
bring  this  agency  into  action,  with  more  advantages 
than  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Presby- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  123 

terian  church ;  and  the  Committee  would  most  ear- 
nestly entreat  their  friends,  and  especially  the  pastors 
and  elders  of  the  churches,  to  assist  them  in  carrying 
into  efficient  operation,  the  very  important  principles 
here  suggested." 


MISSION  TO  NORTHERN  INDIA. 

This  mission  was  projected,  as  has  been  seen,  at 
the  very  origin  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary 
Society;  and  Messrs.  John  C.  Lowrie  and  Wil- 
liam Reed,  were  the  first  missionaries  that  offered 
their  services  to  the  Society,  to  be  employed  in  In- 
dia— although  the  African  Mission  was  sooner  capa- 
ble of  being  organized,  and  sent  forward  to  its  field 
of  operation. 

In  narrating  the  transactions  relative  to  this  and  the 
remaininor  missions  of  the  Western  Foreign  Mission- 
ary  Society,  the  best  general  view  may  be  presented, 
by  abbreviating  the  authentic  statements  contained  in 
the  several  annual  reports  of  the  Society  itself.  This 
plan  will  accordingly  be  pursued,  with  only  such  oc- 
casional departures  from  it  as  may  be  found  indispen- 
sable. The  following  quotation  is  taken  from  the  se- 
cond Annual  Report,  read  and  adopted  at  the  annual 
meeting,  May  6th  1834  : 

"The  last  Annual  Report  stated,  that  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  JVillia?n  Beed  and  John  C.  Lowrie,  with 
their  wives,  were  expected  to  leave  this  country  in  a 
few  weeks  afterwards,  to  commence  their  contempla- 


124  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

ted  mission  in  Hindostan.  Arrangements  were  ac- 
cordingly made  for  their  embarkation  in  the  ship 
Star,  of  the  port  of  Philadelphia,  in  May  last.  Ne- 
ver, it  is  believed,  was  the  mind  of  the  Christian 
public  in  that  city,  more  deeply  interested  in  the  fo- 
reign missionary  enterprise,  than  during  the  pre- 
sence of  the  mission  there,  and  the  religious  exerci- 
ses which  were  connected  with  their  final  departure 
from  it.  The  closing  meeting  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  many,  as  well  from  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances which  tended  to  give  effect  to  it,  and  the  di- 
vine influence  which  seemed  to  pervade  it,  as  the 
early  and  lamented  removal  of  that  excellent  woman, 
who  then,  for  the  last  time  on  earth,  participated  in 
the  exercises  of  the  sanctuary.  This  little  band 
finally  bid  adieu  to  their  native  land,  and  the  ship 
Star  put  to  sea  on  the  30th  of  May,  and  arrived  at 
Madeira  on  the  24th  of  June  following.  The  tem- 
porary abode  of  the  missionaries  at  that  fertile  and 
lovely  spot  in  the  ocean,  tended  not  only  to  mitigate 
the  fatigues  of  a  long  sea  voyage,  but  somewhat  to 
recruit  the  strength  of  Mrs.  Lowrie,  whose  health 
had  begun  to  be  so  far  impaired,  during  the  last  few 
weeks  of  her  residence  in  this  country,  as  to  threaten 
a  confirmed  pulmonary  affection.  The  voyage  was 
resumed  on  the  15th  of  July,  and  the  Star  arrived  in 
the  port  of  Calcutta  on  the  15th  of  October.  The 
change  of  air  incident  to  her  passage  into  the  south- 
ern hemisphere,  and  severe  gales  in  doubling  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  appeared,  the  Committee  regret 
to  state,  to  confirm  all  the  fears  which  had  been  en- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  125 

tertained  as  to  the  character  of  Mrs.  Lowrie's  illness, 
and  from  that  period  she  began  gradually  to  waste 
away,  so  that  before  the  arrival  of  the  Star  in  port, 
all  hopes  of  her  recovery  w^ere  blasted. 

"  The  mission  was  received  at  Calcutta  with  every 
mark  of  respect  and  affection,  and  to  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam H.  Pearce  especially,  will  they  and  their 
friends  in  this  country  feel  long  and  deeply  in- 
debted, for  the  hospitality  and  kindness  which  were 
shown  them.  They  were  immediately  taken  into 
his  family,  and  amidst  the  assiduous  and  affectionate 
attentions  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pearce  and  their  friends, 
Mrs.  Lowrie  lingered  until  the  24th  of  November, 
when  she  expired ;  and  from  his  hospitable  mansion 
her  mortal  remains  were  borne  to  the  house  appoint- 
ed for  all  living.  To  her  deeply  afflicted  husband, 
thus  early  bereft  of  a  partner  in  a  strange  land,  to  the 
other  two  surviving  members,  to  the  Society  and  the 
cause  of  missions  in  India,  the  death  of  this  amiable, 
intelligent,  and  devoted  woman,  must  be  regarded  as 
a  very  severe  affliction.  Her  desires  to  devote  her- 
self to  the  spiritual  good  of  the  heathen  were  fervent, 
and  her  qualifications  for  the  station  were,  to  human 
view,  uncommon ;  but  He,  for  whose  glory  she  left 
her  native  land,  and  bore  her  feeble,  exhausted  frame 
half  round  the  globe,  was  pleased,  doubtless  for  wise 
reasons,  to  disappoint  her  earthly  hopes,  and  to  re- 
quire her  earthly  associates,  a  few  short  weeks  after 
their  arrival,  to  consign  her  to  the  dust,  there  to  pro- 
claim, as  she  sleeps  in  Jesus  on  India's  distant  shores, 
the  compassion  of  American  Christians  for  its  mil- 
11* 


126  PRESBYTERIAN     3IISSI0NS. 

lions  of  degraded  idolaters;  and  to  invite  others 
from  her  native  land,  to  come  and  prosecute  the  no- 
ble undertaking  in  which  she  fell. 

"  The  Committee  were  led,  from  the  information 
which  they  had  previously  obtained,  to  direct  these 
brethren  to  seek  some  eligible  position  in  the  nor- 
thern provinces  of  Hindostan,  as  the  field  of  their  la- 
bours ;  but  they  were  authorized  to  make  a  different 
selection,  if,  on  arriving  in  India  and  consulting  with 
the  friends  of  missions  at  Calcutta,  it  should  be  found 
expedient  to  do  so. 

"  After  mature  deliberation,  and  taking  the  advice 
of  many  judicious  and  well-informed  counsellors, 
they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  original  desig- 
nation of  the  Committee  was  decidedly  the  best,  va- 
rying from  it  only  in  the  selection  of  an  adjoining 
province,  somewhat  further  to  the  north-west,  and 
inhabited  by  a  people  less  bigoted  in  their  attach- 
ment to  Paganism.  Besides  this  feature  in  the  reli- 
gious character  of  the  people — their  docility  and  de- 
sire to  become  acquainted  with  the  English  language 
— the  comparative  healthfulness  of  that  part  of  India 
— its  entire  destitution  of  missionary  instruction — 
and  its  proximity  to,  and  commercial  intercourse 
with,  Afghanistan,  Cashmere,  and  Thibet,  extensive 
and  populous  regions  as  yet  entirely  unoccupied,  are 
all  considerations  of  importance,  and  going  to  show 
the  propriety  of  the  selection. 

*^  Lodiana  and  Umbala,  the  two  cities  in  La- 
hore, which  have  been  mentioned  as  the  two  best 
positions,  are,  both  of  them,  distant  probably  more 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  127 

than  one  thousand  miles  from  Calcutta,  and  nearly  as 
far  from  Bombay ;  but  as  measures  are  now  in  pro- 
gress to  open  the  navigation  of  the  Indus  and  its  tri- 
butaries, and  as  Lodiana  stands  on  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Sutledge,  one  of  its  principal  branches, 
and  as  there  is  now  a  plan  on  foot  for  a  steam  com- 
munication from  Bombay  to  England,  through  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea,  this  part  of  India, 
and  especially  Lodiana,  may  eventually  become  of 
more  easy  and  frequent  access  to  us  than  Calcutta 
itself. 

"  Of  the  climate,  and  government,  and  inhabitants 
of  the  province  of  Lahore,  it  is  stated  that  it  consists 
of  two  parts ;  the  one  of  which  is  the  mountainous 
tract  in  the  north-east,  stretching  south  and  east  from 
Cashmere;  and  the  other  comprising  the  low  and  flat 
tracts  near  the  south  of  the  Sutledge,  called  the  Pun- 
jab. The  former  has  a  climate  much  resembling  that 
of  middle  Europe,  but  is  thinly  peopled  in  compari- 
son to  the  other,  which  is  by  far  the  most  produc- 
tive, though  less  salubrious.  It  comprises  a  territory 
of  seventy  thousand  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
four  millions,  and  is  said  to  contain  many  fine  villages 
and  some  large  towns ;  but  those  of  the  latter,  with 
the  exception  oiAmrister^  the  holy  city  of  the  Seiks, 
are  in  a  declining  condition.  Lahore  is  under  the 
government  of  a  native  prince,  by  the  name  of  Run- 
jeet  Singh,  formerly  one  of  the  most  formidable  ene- 
mies of  the  Anglo-Indian  government,  but  now  on 
terms  of  friendship  with  it. 


128 


PRESBYTERIAN     HUSSIONS. 


"  The  political  changes  which  have  recently  taken 
place  in  respect  to  Inda,  the  increasing  desire  of  per- 
sons of  distinction  among  the  natives  to  give  their 
children  an  English  education,  and  the  disposition  of 
the  constituted  authorities  to  encourage  the  settle- 
ment of  educated  and  intelligent  missionaries  in  all 
parts  of  that  country,  are  to  be  regarded  as  truly  aus- 
picious circumstances. 

"  The  brethren  readily  obtained  permission  of  the 
Governor  General  of  India,  to  reside  in  the  province 
which  they  had  selected  ;  but  as  the  season  least  fa- 
vourable for  making  the  journey  was  about  to  com- 
mence, and  as  they  could  spend  the  intervening  time 
profitably  in  the  study  of  the  language,  they  had  con- 
cluded, on  consultation  with  their  friends  in  Calcutta, 
to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of  that  city  until  June  next. 
They  express,  and  that  repeatedly,  the  hope  that  ad- 
ditional missionaries  may  be  speedily  sent  out  to  join 
them ;  and  the  decease  of  one  of  their  valued  mem- 
bers, and  the  importance  of  the  fiield  itself,  give 
great  force  to  this  solicitation.  The  Committee  are 
happy  to  say,  that  they  have  it  in  prospect  to  send  a 
reinforcement  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  autumn. 
In  the  meantime,  it  would  bo  highly  useful  to  pro- 
vide for  that  station,  a  printing  press  to  be  sent  out 
from  this  country,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  a  fount 
of  type  in  the  Punjabee  at  Calcutta;  and  charts, 
maps,  and  globes,  and  other  apparatus,  for  the  High 
School  which  the  mission  intend  speedily  to  estab- 
lish, would  be  extremely  serviceable.     '  If  one  hun- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  129 

dred  additional  missionaries  could  be  sent  out,'  there 
would  be,  say  these  brethren,  '  an  abundance  of 
work  to  employ  them  all.'  " 

The  following  quotations  are  from  the  Third  An- 
nual Report,  of  May  18  1835. 

"  Our  last  Report  left  its  three  surviving  members, 
viz.,  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  Rev.  William  Reed, 
and  Mrs.  Harriet  Reed,  in  Calcutta,  diligently  prose- 
cuting the  study  of  the  language  of  the  Punjab  ;  and 
making  preparations  to  leave  that  city  for  the  North 
of  India,  as  soon  as  the  appropriate  season  should  ar- 
rive. In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  health  of  Mr. 
Reed  became  visibly  impaired,  and  a  bad  cough  and 
fever  were  soon  followed  by  the  painful  evidences  of 
a  confirmed  consumption.  From  this  period,  the  de- 
cline of  this  amiable  and  devoted  missionary  was  so 
rapid,  that  all  expectation  of  his  being  able  to  labour 
in  India  ceased;  and  after  long  and  trying  consulta- 
tion, and  after  having  obtained  the  best  medical  ad- 
vice, it  was  resolved  that  Mr.  Reed  and  his  partner 
should  take  passage  for  the  United  States,  while  Mr. 
Lowrie  proceeded  to  Lodiana,  to  make  preparations 
to  commence  the  mission. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reed  embarked  on  t^ie  23d  of 
July,  (1834)  and  on  the  12th  of  August,  after  a  few 
days  of  rapid  decline,  the  dying  missionary  closed 
in  serenity  and  peace  his  earthly  sufferings,  and  his 
remains  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  were  com- 
mitted to  the  watery  deep;  leaving  his  bereaved 
partner  in  the  most  delicate  and  trying  circum- 
stances, to  prosecute  the  tedious  voyage  on  which 


130  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

they  had  just  entered.  The  gratitude  of  the  Board 
is  due  to  Captain  Land  of  the  ship  Edward,  for  his 
affectionate  sympathy  and  unremitting  attention  to 
Mr.  Reed  while  he  survived,  and  to  his  widowed 
companion,  who  reached  this  country  in  safety  on 
the  12th  of  December  following. 

"  Mr.  Lowrie  left  Calcutta  on  the  day  after  this 
painful  separation  from  his  beloved  associates,  and, 
at  the  date  of  his  last  communications,  had  arrived 
within  a  few  days  travel  of  Lodiana,  having  ascend- 
ed the  Ganges  to  Cawnpore,  and  thus  gained  by  per- 
sonal observation  much  useful  information,  as  to  the 
state  of  society  and  morals,  the  customs  and  religious 
rites  of  the  Hindoos,  the  trade  and  various  phenome- 
na of  that  far-famed  river,  and  of  the  scenery,  soil, 
productions,  cities,  temples,  and  military  stations, 
along  its  banks. 

"  In  view  of  the  providential  reduction  of  this 
mission  to  a  single  individual,  it  is  cause  of  unfeign- 
ed thankfulness  to  God  that  the  survivor,  and  the 
pioneer  in  the  enterprise,  should  be  a  man  who,  by 
the  union  of  judgment,  prudence,  and  energy,  with 
gentleness,  fortitude,  and  devotedness  to  the  work, 
is  so  well  fitted  for  the  difficult  and  responsible 
situation. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  November  last,  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  James  Wilson,  and  John  Newton,  with 
their  wives,  and  Miss  Julia  A.  Davis,  sailed  from 
Boston  as  a  reinforcement  to  this  mission  ;  and  pro- 
bably ere  this  have  arrived  at  Calcutta,  from  whence, 
after  becoming  acquainted  with  the  friends  of  mis- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  131 

sions  in  that  city,  and  making  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions, they  are  expected  to  proceed  in  time  to  join 
Mr.  Lowrie  early  in  autumn.  The  Rev.  J.  R. 
Campbell,  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church, 
and  the  Rev.  James  McEwen,  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  David  Hull,  licentiate  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Northumberland,  have  since  been 
appointed  to  the  same  field,  and  are  exj^ected,  in 
connexion  with  a  physician,  and  one  or  two  assist- 
ant teachers,  if  suitable  persons  should  in  the  mean 
time  be  obtained,  to  leave  this  country  in  October 
next.  If  this  reinforcement  be  permitted  to  reach 
Lodiana  in  safety,  and  not  find  the  force  already 
sent  out  materially  weakened,  it  is  the  expectation 
of  the  Committee  that  an  additional  station,  either  at 
Cashmere,  Umbala,  or  some  still  more  promising 
position,  will  be  soon  formed.  Through  the  dis- 
tinguished munificence  of  a  single  individual,  an 
excellent  philosophical  apparatus  for  a  native  high 
school  has  already  been  sent  to  Upper  India,  and  it 
is  the  purpose  of  the  Committee  to  provide  a  print- 
ing-press and  apparatus,  to  be  forwarded  next  fall ; 
and  from  the  number  of  young  men  who  are  known 
to  have  that  field  in  view,  and  other  indications  of 
Providence  in  reference  to  it,  they  are  led  to  believe 
that  these  and  every  other  desirable  facility  for  the 
vigorous  and  extended  prosecution  of  this  mission, 
should  be  provided.  In  view  of  the  disproportion- 
ate amount  of  effort  which  the  Committee  have  al- 
ready resolved  to  apply  to  North  Western  India,  the 
Board  may  desire  a  brief  statement  of  the  considera- 


132  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

tions  on  which  this  policy  is  founded.  They  are 
such  as  apply  to  Hindoostan  in  general,  and  such  as 
respect  that  part  of  it  in  particular. 

^^  It  is  in  the  contemplation  of  India,  and  with  it 
as  an  instrument,  the  whole  of  peninsula  Asia,  as  ap- 
parently on  the  eve  of  a  great  revolution  in  its  intel- 
lectual and  religious  prospects,  that  we  feel  a  special 
interest  in  it  as  a  missionary  field.  If  the  train  of 
causes  which  led  to  the  establishment  and  the  exten- 
sion of  a  protestant  power  in  that  country,  and  which 
will  inevitably  lead  to  the  far  greater  extension  of  its 
moral  influence,  develope  the  singular  wisdom  of  Di- 
vine Providence,  not  less  so  are  now  the  means  by 
which  the  fearful  structure  of  Budhism  is  crumbling 
away.  The  native  press,  originally  got  up  to  sustain 
it,  is  now,  through  its  concessions  and  flie  tone  of 
feeling  it  encourages,  becoming  a  most  powerful  en- 
gine in  its  overthrow.  It  now  contributes  with  other 
means,  to  weaken  prejudices  and  soften  the  asperities 
of  bigotry;  to  excite  a  spirit  of  inquiry;  and  is,  with 
the  influence  of  native  schools,  creating  a  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  making  Christianity  a  topic  of  fa- 
miliar conversation,  tending  to  aid  the  civil  autho- 
rity in  the  suppression  of  those  cruelties  and  excesses, 
by  which  superstition  maintains  its  firmest  hold  of 
an  ignorant  and  deluded  people.  The  Bramins,  it  is 
said,  fully  expect  the  speedy  termination  of  all  the 
sanctity  of  their  idolized  rivers ;  and  then,  as  one 
of  them  recently  observed,  ^  nothing  will  remain  to 
Hindoos  but  to  embrnce  the  Christian  faith.'  If  this 
is  the  feeling  beginning  to  possess  the  minds  of  the 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  133 

most  bigoted  and  influential  among  a  population  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  millions,  and  that  in  a  land 
which  has  been  the  strong  hold  of  Buddism,  and  at  a 
moment  when  Burmah,  on  its  border,  is  also  power- 
fully shaken,  w^e  may  easily  see  how  eventful  to  the 
missionary  enterprise,  is  the  crisis  which  it  has  at- 
tained. 

"  We,  however,  proceed  to  notice  the  local  ad- 
vantages of  Northern  India. 

"  In  the  execution  of  the  Redeemer's  commission, 
no  part  of  the  earth,  it  is  true,  is  to  be  excepted,  on 
account  of  the  insalubrity  of  its  climate,  or  the  de- 
gradation or  the  ferocity  of  its  population.  Still,  at 
every  stage  of  the  progress  of  its  evangelization,  it 
is  proper,  other  things  being  equal,  to  prefer  loca- 
tions of  less  moral  or  physical  obstruction,  to  those 
which  have  greater.  The  intense  heat  and  periodi- 
cal winds  of  the  day,  and  the  extreme  humidity  of 
the  atmosphere,  in  the  wet  seasons  of  Hindoostan, 
have  always  made  almost  every  part  of  it  a  precari- 
ous and  very  often  a  fatal  abode,  for  both  Anglo  and 
American  emigrants ;  although  the  cold  is  doubt- 
less considerably  greater  in  these  upper  provinces, 
than  in  other  parts  of  India.  Burns  found  the  heat 
so  great  at  Lahore,  Lodiana,  and  Moultan,  that  in 
the  month  of  June,  the  thermometer  stood  at  100% 
even  in  the  shade  of  a  Bungalow  artificially  cooled. 
The  chief  consideration,  therefore,  in  favour  of  this 
field,  is  its  proximity  to  some  of  the  most  elevated 
and  salubrious  posts  in  Asia.  Simla,  a  place  of 
considerable  resort  for  sanitary  purposes,  which  at- 
12 


134  PUESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

tains  an  elevation  of  7800  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  where,  according  to  captain  Mundy, 
the  thermometer  in  May  or  June  never  rises  higher 
than  72°,  and  never  sinks  lower  than  55°,  is  but  100 
miles  from  Lodiana.  Roopur  and  Subathu  are 
still  nearer,  while  Umbctla,  which  has  been  some- 
times mentioned  by  our  brethren  for  a  second  posi- 
tion, approaches  still  closer  to  the  base  of  the  Asi- 
atic range.  If,  in  securing  these  advantages  of  lo- 
cality, we  have  receded  several  hundreds  of  miles 
into  the  interior,  ordinarily  precluding  frequent 
communication,  and  requiring  a  long  and  expen- 
sive journey,  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  1000  miles 
in  the  navigation  of  rivers  destitute  of  every  obstruc- 
tion, will  bring  the  trade  of  the  Punjab,  as  high  up  as 
Lodiana,  to  the  ocean,  on  the  line  of  the  intended 
thoroughfare  from  India  to  Europe — not  less  than 
2000  miles  nearer  the  latter  than  Calcutta  itself. 

"  Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  opening  of  the  In- 
dus and  its  tributaries  to  an  active  commerce  by 
steam  communication,  now  in  contemplation,  and 
the  concentration  of  a  considerable  trade  from  Thi- 
bet and  Tartary,  through  the  defiles  of  the  mountains, 
carrying  back  into  these  benighted  regions  the  arts 
and  religious  light  of  Christian  nations,  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served, that  the  political  ascendency  of  the  power- 
ful chief  of  the  Seik  nation,  already  makes  the 
Punjab  the  most  safe  and  convenieiit  entrance 
into  Cabool,  Bokara,  and  Western  Persia.  In 
these  countries,  it  is  true,  the  Moslem  faith,  in  a 
milder  form  than  in  Western  Asia,  has  long  prevail- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  135 

ed ;  but  it  is  believed  that  Christianity  would  even 
now  be  tolerated,  as  Hindooism  is ;  and  Burns  states 
that while  travelling  in  these  infrequented  countries, 
he  gathered  from  the  conversation  of  the  Mohamme- 
dans of  Cabool  and  Persia  among  themselves,  that 
there  existed  among  them  a  prediction  that  Christi- 
anity was  speedily  to  overturn  the  entire  structure 
of  their  faith.  The  Scriptures  have  been  translated 
into  the  Mongolian  language — a  language  spoken  by 
many  tribes,  from  the  shores  of  the  Baikal  to  the 
borders  of  Thibet,  and  from  the  Caspian  to  the  gates 
of  Pekin,  including  millions  in  the  Chinese  empire ; 
and  if  our  society  should  eventually  establish  a  mis- 
sion at  Selinga,  Kiatka,  or  some  other  spot  under  the 
protection  of  a  Christian  power,  in  Asiatic  Russia, 
and  another  on  the  borders  of  China  or  Tartary,  on 
the  great  thoroughfare  from  Pekin  to  Tobolsk  and  St. 
Petersburgh,  these  two  remote  positions  would  stand 
towards  each  other,  and  the  great  plateau  of  Central 
Asia,  in  the  most  interesting  and  powerful  relation." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  Fourth  Annual 
Report,  made  in  May  1836. 

<^  This  mission  at  present,  consists  of  fifteen  indi- 
viduals, comprising  five  ordained  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  and  three  candidates  for  the  ministry,  and 
possessing  two  printing  presses,  a  philosophical  ap- 
paratus, and  a  good  library.  The  Committee  rejoice 
in  being  able  to  state,  that  since  the  last  Annual  Re- 
port, the  operations  of  the  Mission  to  India  have 
been  attended  with  the  continued  marks  of  the  di- 
vine favour.     The  lives  of  all  the  missionaries  have 


136  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

been  preserved,  and  the  health  of  the  Rev.  John  C, 
Loivrie,  the  only  one  of  them  who  has  been  seri- 
ously indisposed,  has  not  materially  changed  during 
the  year.  Rev.  James  Wilson  and  John  Newton, 
with  their  partners,  after  a  prosperous  voyage,  ar- 
rived at  Calcutta  in  due  season,  and  remained  in  that 
city,  as  was  expected,  until  the  24th  of  June  last, 
when  they  proceeded  by  w^ater,  on  their  way  to  the 
Upper  Provinces.  During  their  stay,  and  on  their 
protracted  voyage  up  the  Ganges,  they  were  all 
blessed  with  good  health  and  spirits ;  at  the  last  date 
of  intelligence  from  them,  they  were  proceeding,  by 
land,  from  the  river  to  Lodiana,  where  they  proba- 
bly arrived  early  in  December  last.  Miss  Julia  *d. 
Davis,  who  accompanied  this  reinforcement,  as  an 
assistant  to  the  mission,  was  induced,  some  time  after 
her  arrival  at  Calcutta,  and  with  the  concurrence  of 
our  brethren,  and  the  friends  of  the  missionary  cause 
in  that  city,  to  form  a  matrimonial  connexion  with 
Rev.  John  Goadby,  of  the  English  General  Baptist 
Mission  at  Cuttack ;  and  in  consequence,  withdrew 
from  her  connexion  with  this  Board,  with  the  hope, 
it  is  believed,  of  being  enabled,  with  greater  pros- 
pects of  usefulness,  to  prosecute  the  work  for  which 
she  left  her  native  land. 

"  Our  missionary  brethren  appear  to  have  met 
with  great  kindness  and  hospitality,  at  all  the  stations 
and  British  settlements,  on  their  way  up  the  Ganges, 
and  to  have  experienced  a  growing  conviction  of  the 
importance  of  India  missions,  and  the  desirableness  of 
a  great  enlargement  of  our  operations  in  that  country. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  137 

<'Mr.  Lowrie  having,  in  compliance  with  a  spe- 
cial and  repeated  invitation  from  the  powerful  sove- 
reign of  the  Punjab,  made  an  excursion  to  the  court 
of  Lahor,  conferred  with  the  government  on  the 
subject  of  education,  and  visited  some  of  the  princi- 
pal cities  and  other  objects  of  interest  within  its  ter- 
ritory; and  having  spent  the  dry  season  at  Simla, 
in  what  is  familiarly  called  the  Hills,  or  Hill  Pro- 
vinces, and  made  several  tours  of  observation  during 
the  summer,  for  the  purposes  of  information  as  well 
as  of  exercise  and  change  of  air,  has  thus  collected  an 
amount  of  knowledge  which  may  prove  highly  use- 
ful to  the  cause  of  missions. 

"  In  education,  agriculture,  and  morals,  Mr.  Low- 
rie found  the  population  of  the  Maha  Rajah,  Ranjet 
Singh,  consisting  of  Sikhs,  Hindus,  Mussulmans, 
&c.  much  like  other  parts  of  Hindoostan.  This  terri- 
tory was  originally  divided  among  a  number  of  inde- 
pendent Sardars,  who  now  acknowledge  the  sway  of 
this  powerful  Chief.  But  on  the  termination  of  his 
life,  now  considerably  advanced,  it  is  supposed  that 
things  will  revert  to  their  original  condition;  and^ 
the  whole  eventually  fall,  as  other  portions  of  India 
have  done,  under  the  direction  of  the  British  power. 

"A  considerable  part  of  the  country  through 
which  Mr.  Lowrie  passed,  is  neither  fertile  nor 
densely  populated;  but  the  vicinity  of  the  capital 
was  covered  with  luxuriant  wheat  and  fine  gardens, 
extremely  fertile,  and  adorned  with  the  beautiful 
mango  and  tamarind  trees.  Amritsir,  the  seat  of 
Sikh  learning  and  devotion,  the  resort  of  pilgrims, 
12* 


138  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

and  the  site  of  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  sacred  re- 
servoir, is  important  also,  as  the  commercial  empo- 
rium of  the  Punjab,  and  the  mart  of  the  fine  fabrics  of 
Cashmere;  and  may  thus  be  regarded  as  the  most 
eligible  position  in  Labor  for  a  missionary  station, 
whenever  our  operations  in  that  quarter  shall  de- 
mand a  selection.  The  result  of  Mr.  Lowrie's  ob- 
servations, however,  would  seem,  for  the  present,  to 
give  a  decided  preference  to  the  population  of  the 
Hill  provinces,  as,  in  some  respects,  more  likely  to 
be  benefitted  by  missionary  efforts,  and  as  possessing 
a  climate  more  favourable  to  the  health  of  missiona- 
ries. The  people  are  less  attached  to  caste  than 
those  of  the  Plains,  and  to  those  immoral  habits  and 
customs  which  so  extensively  abound  in  India;  being 
simple  in  their  habits  and  modes  of  life,  devo- 
ted to  agriculture,  and  combining  a  larger  share  of 
industry,  uprightness,  and  thoughtfulness  of  charac- 
ter. The  natural  productions  of  the  soil,  and  conse- 
quently the  staple  articles  of  subsistence,  correspond 
also  much  more  with  those  of  our  own  country ;  and 
this  fact,  while  it  might  promote  both  the  comfort 
and  the  health  of  our  missionaries,  would  enable 
them  to  transfer  to  this  simple-hearted  people,  and 
introduce  among  them,  many  of  the  improvements 
in  agriculture  and  horticulture  which  exist  in  their 
native  land. 

"  In  November  last,  a  second  reinforcement,  con- 
sisting of  Rev.  James  McEiven,  of  the  Associate 
Reformed  Synod  ;  Rev.  James  R.  Campbell,  of  the 
Synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church,  with 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  139 

their  wives ;  and  Messrs.  William  Rogers  and  Jo- 
seph Porter,  graduates  of  Miami  University;  and 
Mr.  Jesse  S.  Jamieson,  graduate  of  J-efferson  Col- 
lege, with  their  wives,  sailed  from  Philadelphia,  in 
the  ship  Charles  Wharton,  for  Calcutta;  and,  at  the 
date  of  the  last  advices,  these  ten  brethren  and  sis- 
ters, with  Rev.  Messrs.  Winslow  and  D wight,  and 
their  wives,  of  the  American  Board,  were  all  in  good 
health,  and  expected  to  reach  their  destined  port 
about  the  first  of  March  last.  Neither  of  the  three 
last  named  brethren  of  this  reinforcement  had  prose- 
cuted a  regular  course  of  theological  education,  before 
leaving  this  country;  though  each  had  completed  his 
academical  course  with  uncommon  respectability,  as 
to  scholarship  and  correct  moral  and  religious  de- 
portment. From  information  previously  received, 
and  of  high  authority,  the  Committee  were  led  to 
believe  that  these  brethren,  by  spending  a  few  of  the 
first  years  of  their  missionary  labours  as  teachers,  in 
the  higher  departments  of  education  in  India,  might 
promote  the  great  object  of  its  evangelization,  as  ef- 
fectually as  any  other ;  and  that,  while  an  entrance 
upon  these  pursuits,  fresh  from  the  studies  of  an  aca- 
demic education,  and  with  a  view  to  enter  the  holy 
ministry  as  soon  as  they  should  be  prepared  for  it, 
and  the  progress  of  the  mission  might  demand  it, 
would  bring  them  more  speedily  into  active  service, 
it  would  not  materially  affect  their  prospective  use- 
fulness as  ambassadors  of  Christ  to  the  heathen. 

"  Two  printing  presses  and  fonts  of  type,  as  well 
in  the  Roman  character  as  that  of  the  principal  Ian- 


140  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

guages  of  the  Northern  Provinces  of  Hindoostan,  have 
in  the  mean  time  been  sent  forward ;  and  Mr.  Reese 
Morris,  of  Philadelphia,  a  practical  printer,  with  his 
wife,  has  been  accepted  as  an  assistant  in  the  mission, 
and  is  expected  to  repair  to  India  with  the  next  rein- 
forcement. In  the  intervening  time,  provision  has 
been  made  to  employ  the  service  of  printers  on  the 
spot,  and  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  expense 
of  this  part  of  our  establishment  in  India  will  be  de- 
frayed, by  the  publication  of  a  paper  about  to  be  es- 
tablished by  the  British  agent  at  Lodiana.  On  the  ar- 
rival of  this  reinforcement  at  the  station,  it  is  expect- 
ed that  the  missionaries,  after  all  due  inquiry  and 
observation  has  been  made,  will  so  divide  and  ar- 
range their  forces  as  to  occupy  one  or  two  additional 
positions. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lowrie,  having  suffered  conside- 
rably from  impah'ed  health  during  most  of  the  time 
of  his  residence  in  India,  and  having  been  advised 
by  his  physicians  to  return  and  spend  a  year  or  two 
in  this  country,  received  some  months  ago  from  the 
Committee  permission  to  do  so,  and,  if  no  material 
change  should  have  since  occurred,  his  return  to  the 
United  States  may  be  anticipated  during  the  course 
of  the  present  year." 

From  the  Fifth  and  last  report,  of  JNIay  1S37,  the 
following  interesting  extracts  are  taken. 

"  This  most  extensive  of  tlie  missions  of  the  So- 
ciety has  continued  to  enjoy  the  protection  and  bless- 
ing of  God.  The  only  adverse  circumstance  is  the 
return,  on  account  of  ill  health,  of  the  Rev.  J.  C. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  141 

Lowrie,  as  intimated  in  the  last  report.  Mr.  Lowrie 
left  Locliana  the  20th  January,  1836.  When  he  ar- 
rived at  Calcutta,  it  was  found  to  be  impracticable  to 
obtain  a  passage  direct  to  this  country,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  return  by  way  of  England.  He  arrived 
at  New  York  the  2Sth  December  last.  Since  that 
time  he  has  visited  a  number  of  the  churches,  mak- 
ing known  the  wants  of  the  heathen,  of  whose  perish- 
ing condition  he  has  been  an  eye  witness.  Should 
his  health  be  restored,  it  is  his  settled  purpose  to  re- 
turn. 

"The  second  reinforcement  mentioned  in  the  last 
report,  consisting  of  Messrs.  McEwen,  Campbell, 
Rogers,  Jameson,  Porter,  and  their  wives,  reached 
Calcutta  in  safety  on  the  1st  of  April.  At  Madras 
they  parted  with  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Winslow  and 
Dwight,  Missionaries  of  the  American  Board,  who 
were  their  companions  in  the  voyage,  and  to  whom 
they  had  become  strongly  attached  in  the  bonds  of 
christian  love  and  friendship.  The  joint  labours  6i 
these  brethren,  on  the  voyage,  were  greatly  blessed 
to  the  officers  and  sailors  of  the  ship. 

"On  landing  at  Calcutta,  these  brethren  were 
greatly  encouraged  by  meeting  Mr.  Lowrie.  With 
his  assistance  they  were  soon  accommodated  with 
lodgings;  and  on  the  27th  June  they  commenced 
their  voyage  up  the  river.  On  the  1st  November 
they  had  nearly  reached  their  destination  ;  with  the 
exception  of  Mr.  McEwen,  who  stopped  at  Allaha- 
bad, with  the  intention  of  remaining  there  till  spring. 

"  The  Rev.  Messrs.  James  Wilson  and  John  New- 


142  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

ton,  occupy  the  station  at  Lodiana.  Besides  the  usu- 
al missionary  labours,  they  have  under  their  care  the 
school  first  established  at  that  station,  by  the  British 
Political  Agent,  Capt.  Wade,  but  afterwards  trans- 
ferred to  the  care  and  direction  of  the  mission. 
Capt.  Wade  is  still  its  efficient  patron,  and  the 
school  at  present  gives  high  promise  of  service  in 
the  cause  of  the  Redeemer.  It  consists  of  between 
forty  and  fifty  youth,  most  of  them  from  the  first 
families.  In  this  school  every  thing  which  human 
means  can  provide  is  afforded,  for  raising  up  an  edu- 
cated and  qualified  native  ministry;  and  the  com- 
mittee ask  their  fellow  Christians  to  join  with  them 
in  daily  prayer,  in  pleading  the  promise  of  the  Sa- 
viour (Luke  xi.  9 — 13)  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  these  youth.  At  this  station 
are  two  printing  presses  belonging  to  the  Society. 

*' Besides  Lodiana,  two  other  stations,  Subathu  and 
Saharunpur,  have  been  selected,  to  be  occupied  by 
the  last  reinforcement. 

"Subathu,  distant  110  miles  north-east  from  Lodi- 
ana, is  situated  on  the  lower  elevation  of  the  Hime- 
lah  mountains,  4000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Between  the  snowy  ranges  of  these  mountains  and 
the  plains  of  India,  there  is  an  intervening  tract  of 
country,  having  an  average  breadth  of  "about  60 
miles,  which,  though  mountainous  in  its  character, 
is  yet  capable  of  cultivation  to  a  considerable  extent. 
A  district  in  this  hilly  region,  200  miles  in  length, 
with  a  population  250,000,  is  under  the  control  of 
the  East  India  Company.     Subathu  is  one  of  their 


PRESBYTERIAN     3IISSI0NS.  143 

military  stations  and  is  considered  an  eligible  point, 
in  regard  to  health,  communication  with  other  places, 
and  general  convenience,  for  commencing  the  system 
of  effort  by  which  the  Gospel  is  tp  be  established 
over  those  mountain  tribes. 

"  Saharunpur,  distant  130  miles  south-east  from 
Lodiana,  100  miles  north  of  Delhi,  is  situated  within 
20  miles  of  Hurdwar,  that  great  rendezvous  of  pil- 
grims from  all  the  surrounding  nations.  The  annual 
fare  at  Hurdwar,  is  attended  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  all  classes ;  and  hitherto,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  transient  visits  of  a  single  missionary  from 
Delhi,  satan  has  had  the  undisputed  possession  of 
this  great  field  to  himself.  No  place  affords  more 
advantages  for  the  dissemination  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures and  religious  publications,  than  the  fairs  at 
Hurdwar.  From  this  point  they  will  be  carried  into 
the  surrounding  countries,  and  to  all  parts  of  Nor- 
thern India,  and  even  to  the  tribes  beyond  Cashmere, 
inhabiting  the  high  table  lands  of  Central  Asia. 

"  The  committee  expected  to  have  sent,  early  in 
the  Spring,  to  this  important  field,  four  additional 
missionaries.  The  Rev.  Henry  R.  Wilson,  Jr.  and 
Mr.  Reese  Morris,  Jr.  a  printer ;  and  from  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  Church  the  Rev.  J.  Caldwell 
and  Mr.  James  Craig,  a  teacher.  But  owing  to  the 
want  of  funds,  this  reinforcement  has  been  postponed 
till  the  coming  Fall.  To  it  will  then  be  added  the 
Rev.  J.  H.  Morrison." 

It  may  be  proper  to  add  here,  that  agreeably  to 


144  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

the  intimation  given  above,  these  missionaries  sailed 
for  India  in  October  1837. 

"  At  I^odiana  there  are  residing  at  present,  under 
the  protection  of  the  British  Government,  two  exiled 
kings  from  Afghaunistan,  who  have  their  followers 
with  them,  to  the  number  of  2000  or  upward.  There 
are  also  more  than  3500  Cashmerians  residing  at  that 
station,  and  many  at  other  towns  in  Upper  India, 
who  were  driven  from  their  native  valley  by  famine, 
and  by  the  oppression  of  their  rulers.  They  are 
employed  in  manufacturing  the  fine  fabrics  for  which 
their  country  is  so  celebrated,  and  they  retain  the 
language  and  the  usages  of  the  tribe  of  the  Hindu  fa- 
mily to  which  they  belong.  Owing  to  the  residence 
of  these  people  at  the  principal  missionary  station, 
every  opportunity  is  afforded  of  learning  the  lan- 
guage of  those  countries,  and  among  them  making 
known  the  way  of  forgiveness  of  sins  through  the 
risen  Saviour.  The  opening  of  Divine  Providence, 
in  thus  bringing  such  large  portions  of  two  nations 
who  have  never  heard  of  Christ  to  the  very  door 
of  missionary  operations,  w^is  too  plain  to  be  neg- 
lected. One  of  the  brethren  of  the  next  reinforce- 
ment will  be  appointed  a  missionary  to  Cashmere ; 
and  another  of  them  to  Afghaunistan.  Until  they 
have  learned  the  respective  languages,  these  brethren 
will  reside  at  Lodiana,  and  in  every  w^ay  endea- 
vour to  promote  the  best  interests  of  those  to  whom 
they  are  sent. 

"  Mr.    Morris   will   take  charge  of  the  printing 


PRESBYTERIAN  MISSIONS.       145 

presses,  and  the  two  other  brethren  will  occupy  Um- 
bala,  Sirhind,  or  some  of  the  other  stations  in  the  vi- 
cinity. 

"  The  foregoing  relation  of  facts  and  circum- 
stances, if  there  were  no  others,  shows  the  impor- 
tance of  this  region  as  a  missionary  field ;  but  the 
half  has  not  been  told. 

"  It  is  a  ground  of  no  small  encouragement,  that 
here  at  least  a  protestant  mission  has  been  planted,  in 
advance  of  the  missionaries  of  the  pope  of  Rome. 
Here  too  are  the  missionaries  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  hilly  country,  to  which  the  sick  and  the  inva- 
lid, without  leaving  missionary  ground,  may  resort 
for  health.  On  the  west  is  the  large  and  populous 
kingdom  of  the  Punjab ;  with  a  population  very 
similar  to  that  among  which  the  present  stations  are 
placed.  On  the  borders  of  the  Punjab  are  Cashmere 
and  Afghaunistan,  those  keys  to  the  tribes  inhabiting 
Central  Asia.  North  and  north-east  from  Lodiana, 
in  the  valleys  stretching  far  into  the  recesses  of  the 
Himelah  mountains,  are  numerous  tribes  of  Hindoos, 
not  more  remarkable  for  their  industry  than  for 
their  quiet  demeanour,  the  simplicity  of  their  habits, 
and  the  almost  imperceptible  change  which  time  has 
made  upon  their  national  customs.  Stretching  far  to 
the  south-east,  between  the  snowy  mountains  and 
the  plains,  embracing  the  secondary  range  of  the 
Himelah  mountains,  is  the  kingdom  of  Nepaul.  On 
the  south  is  Rajpootana ;  and  on  the  south-west,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Indus,  are  tribes  and  people  like 
the  others,  ^  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
13 


146  PRESBYTERIAN     iMISSIONS. 

the  world. ^  In  all  these  populous  nations,  the  bless- 
ed Saviour,  and  life  and  salvation  through  his  name, 
are  unknown.  Not  a  single  missionary  of  the  cross 
is  there;  and  the  people  are  sitting  in  the  region  and 
shadow  of  death.  In  view  of  this  entire  destitution 
of  the  bread  of  life,  what  Christian,  in  his  daily  pray- 
er of  '  Thy  kingdom  come,'  will  not  bear  before  the 
mercy  seat  the  youth  now  under  a  course  of  Chris- 
tian instruction,  in  the  very  centre  of  these  regions, 
thus  covered  with  the  pall  of  death.  0  for  the  time! 
when  the  Church  will  ^  with  one  accord'  plead  for 
those  blessings,  without  which  all  will  be  in  vain. 
But  to  assist  in  thus  training  up  a  native  ministry, 
and  above  all  to  preach  the  Gospel,  whom  will  the 
Committee  send  to  say  to  them,  '  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world?' 
And  where  are  the  individuals  and  the  churches, 
who  will  support  those  now  waiting,  and  the  others 
who,  from  time  to  time,  are  offering  themselves  wil- 
lingly to  this  blessed  work  ?" 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  Mission  in  Northern  In- 
dia occupies  four  stations,  viz : 

1.  LoDiANA. — Rev.  John  Newton, 

Rev.  Henry  R.  Wilson,  Jr. 

Mr.  Joseph  Porter, 

Mr.  Rees  Morris,  Jr.,  and  their 
wives.  The  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  on  a  visit  to  the 
United  States. 

At  this  station  is  the  High-school,  in  a  state  of 
much  promise,  containing  fifty-eight  scholars;  a  fe- 
male boarding-school  just  commencing;  and  a  prin- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  147 

ting-press,  with  founts  of  English,  Persian,  and  Gur- 
mukhi  type.  As  this  is  at  present  their  principal 
station  in  Northern  India,  the  Rev.  Henry  R.  Wil- 
son, Jr.,  and  Mr.  Reese  Morris,  Jr.,  Printer  and 
Bookbinder,  who  have  recently  left  the  United 
States,  are  to  be  stationed  there,  with  the  large  prin- 
ting-press now  in  India. 

2.  SuBATHU. — Rev.  James  Wilson, 

Mr.  Wm.  S.  Rogers, 
and   their  wives. 
Mrs.  Wilson  has  an  interesting  school  of  Gurkha 
girls.     It  is  uncertain  that  they  will  continue  their 
attendance  ;  so  far  the  prospect  is  encouraging. 

3.  Seharunpur. — Rev.  James  R.  Campbell, 

Rev.  J.  Caldwell, 
Mr.  Jesse  M.  Jameson, 
and  their  wives. 
At  this  station  is  a  boarding  and  common  school, 
supported  by  the  Juvenile  Missionary  Society  of  the 
First  Reformed   Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadel- 
phia.     Mr.   Campbell  is  a  Minister   in   connexion 
with  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church. 

4.  Allahabad. — Rev.  James  McEwen, 

Rev.  John  H.  Morrison, 
Mr.  James  Craig, 
and  their  wives. 
As  this  is  an  important  station,  the  Rev.  John  H. 
Morrison,  and  Mr.  James  Craig,  who  have  recently 
sailed  for  India,  were  instructed  to  join  it. 

At  this  station  is  a  large  boarding-school,  which, 
for  want  of  funds,  the  Executive  Committee  were 


148  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

obliged  to  reduce  to  twenty  scholars.     A  printing- 
press  will  be  wanted  there  the  ensuing  year. 

Mr.  Craig  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Church,  as  is  also  the  Rev.  Joseph  Caldwell ; 
the  whole  amount  of  his  outfit,  passage  to  India,  and 
support  for  one  year,  have  been  provided  by  that 
church. 


MISSION  TO  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS. 

The  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  at  their  annual  meeting 
in  October  1833,  adopted  the  resolution  to  sustain 
The  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  *'  in  at- 
tempting the  immediate  supply  of  every  unsupplied 
and  accessible  tribe  of  the  Wstern  Indian  Reserva- 
tion, with  the  means  of  grace;"  and  they  were 
greatly  encouraged  in  this  benevolent  purpose,  by 
the  favourable  disposition  of  the  General  govern- 
ment at  that  period,  in  regard  to  the  civilization  of 
the  aborigines  of  our  country.  In  execution  of  the 
resolution  passed  by  the  Synod,  the  Society,  in  the 
following  summer,  engaged  the  Rev.  William  D. 
Smith,  one  of  the  two  missionaries  then  under  the 
direction  of  the  Society,  to  undertake  an  exploring 
mission  through  the  Indian  territories  w^est  of  the 
Mississippi.  He  accordingly  spent  most  of  the  sum- 
mer in  visiting  and  conferring  with  the  Shawnees, 
Delaware 5,  Kickapoos,  Kansas,  Ottawas,  Weas,  lo- 
was,  and  Omawhaws  ;  and  the  results  of  his  explora- 
tion were  approved  by  the  Executive  Committee. 
It  was  finally  determined  to  select  the  Weas,  as  the 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  149 

tribe  among  whom  operations  should  be  commenced; 
and  arrangements  were  made  to  despatch  a  mission 
to  that  station  in  the  month  of  November  following. 
Accordingly  on  the  4th  of  that  month,  the  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Kerr  and  the  Rev.  William  Bushnell  and 
their  wives,  with  Miss  Nancy  Henderson  and  Miss 
Martha  Boal,  were  duly  organized  as  a  mission  fami- 
ly, and  shortly  after  set  out  for  the  place  of  their 
destination.  After  experiencing  some  disasters  in 
their  journey,  one  of  which  became  the  accelerating 
cause  of  such  a  state  of  impaired  health,  in  respect  to 
Miss  Boal,  as  made  it  necessary  to  leave  her  on  the 
way.  The  missionaries  arrived  at  Independence,  a 
town  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  about  forty  miles  east 
of  the  Wea  village,  on  the  21st  of  December;  and 
they  concluded  to  pass  the  winter  there.  They  did 
so,  occasionally  visiting  the  Indians  and  making 
preparations  for  the  commencement  of  more  regu- 
lar labours  in  the  spring.  They  preached  to  those 
whom  they  visited,  by  an  interpreter ;  and  obtained 
much  useful  information  relative  to  their  state  and 
characters.  Mr.  Henry  Bradley^  a  young  man 
whom  the  Committee  had  accepted  as  an  assistant  in 
the  agricultural  department^  was  sent  on  with  sup- 
plies to  the  mission,  in  the  spring.  The  Wea  In- 
dians are  a  small  tribe ;  but  they  at  once  manifested 
a  disposition  to  receive  and  treat  the  missionaries 
with  respect  and  kindness ;  so  that  during  the  first 
summer  and  autumn  after  their  location,  besides  erect- 
ing a  school-house,  finishing  their  own  dwellings, 
and  making  preparations  to  till  a  small  farm,  they 
13* 


150  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

opened  a  school  for  the  children  of  the  natives,  and 
collected  the  Indians  for  public  and  social  worship, 
as  often  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Miss  Hen- 
derson opened  and  taught  an  infant  Indian  school  ; 
and  Mr.  Kerr  and  his  associate  prosecuted  their  re- 
spective labours  with  great  diligence.  At  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Temperance  Society,  although  at  first  some- 
what discouraged  by  the  reluctance  manifested  by 
many  of  the  Weas  to  give  the  pledges  of  total  ab- 
stinence, they  were  subsequently  agreeably  sur- 
prised, when  two  of  the  tribe,  not  formerly  present, 
came  forward,  without  solicitation,  and  requested 
their  names  to  be  entered. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  the  Fourth 
Annual  Report : 

"  The  Mission  to  the  Wea  Indians  is  located  in 
the  eastern  border  of  the  reserved  tract  allotted  to 
the  emigrant  Indians ;  and  may  be  properly  said  to 
comprise  two  stations,  about  four  miles  distant  from 
each  other.  Our  excellent  missionary.  Rev.  Joseph 
Kerr,  and  Messrs.  Lindsay  and  Bradley,  with  Mrs. 
Kerr,  Mrs.  Lindsay,  and  Miss  Henderson,  comprise 
the  present  members  of  the  mission.  During  the 
last  summer,  the  schools  were  fuller  and  better  at- 
tended than  at  any  former  period,  and  the  prospects 
of  usefulness  flattering. 

"  The  Weas,  though  not  numerous,  are  an  interest- 
ing people,  and  have  uniformly  manifested  a  disposi- 
tion gratefully  to  receive  instruction ;  and  this  mis- 
sion has,  during  the  last  year,  enjoyed  special  tokens 
of  the  divine  favour.     Besides  a  growing  and  very 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  151 

encouraging  attention  to  the  means  of  grace  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  and  visible  improvement  in  their 
morals  generally,  our  brethren  have  been  rejoiced  to 
witness  the  manifestations  of  the  special  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Early  in  the  last  winter,  it  pleased 
the  Allvvise  Disposer  of  events  suddenly  to  remove 
by  death,  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the  young 
men  of  that  tribe,  under  circumstances  which  gave 
encouraging  evidence  to  the  missionaries  of  his  inte- 
rest in  Christ.  More  recently,  a  church  has  been 
organized,  to  which  five  native  converts  have  been 
admitted,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  more  are  supposed  to 
be  the  subjects  of  religious  impression.  One  of  the 
native  converts,  a  man  advanced  in  years,  with  locks 
whitened  with  age,  burst  into  tears,  and  indeed  into 
loud  weeping,  as,  in  the  act  of  receiving  the  ordi- 
nance of  Christian  baptism,  he  publicly  submitted 
himself  to  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  these 
events,  taken  collectively,  seem  to  have  produced  a 
general  excitement  among  the  whole  of  that  tribe  of 
Indians;  some  becoming  warmly  enlisted  in  behalf 
of  the  mission,  and  others  aroused  to  resist  its  pro- 
gress. Speaking  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  vene- 
rable chiefs  of  that  tribe,  and  in  connexion  with  a 
small  prayer-meeting  held  at  the  mission  house,  Mr. 
Kerr  states,  that,  after  each  had  led  in  the  devotions, 
old  Kernassa  knelt  down  and  ofiered  an  apparently 
fervent  supplication  in  his  own  language,  on  the  very 
spot  where,  one  year  before,  he  lay  upon  the  floor  in 
a  state  of  stupid  and  helpless  intoxication.  The  pro- 
gress of  reformation  and  of  saving  conversion  to  God 


152       PRESBYTERIAN  MISSIONS. 

among  these  unhappy  remnants  of  our  border  tribes, 
must  necessarily  be  connected  with  many  formidable 
obstacles;  and  we  are  not  surprised  that  our  mission- 
ary brethren,  with  these  pleasing  indications  of  suc- 
cess in  their  benevolent  work,  begin  also  to  experi- 
ence the  opposition  of  the  more  debased  part  of  the 
natives  whom  they  are  striving  to  turn  to  God. 

From  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  we  take  the  fol- 
lowing quotation : 

"The  Wea  tribe  of  Indians  have  greatly  profited 
by  the  labours  bestowed  upon  them.  A  church  con- 
taining ten  native  members  has  been  formed  in  the 
wilderness,  and  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries  have 
been  encouraged  by  thus  early  seeing  the  blessing  of 
God  on  their  labours,  among  this  solitary,  degraded, 
and  neglected  people. 

"  Since  the  commencement  of  the  mission,  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Kerr  and  his  wife  have  been  at  this  sta- 
tion. The  time  of  Miss  Nancy  Henderson  was  divi- 
ded between  the  Weas  and  the  loways.  During  the 
last  year  the  health  of  Mrs.  Kerr  was  so  reduced  by 
sickness,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  her  physicians,  no- 
thing but  a  change  of  residence  and  climate  gave  the 
least  hope  of  recovery.  Early  in  the  winter,  while 
her  husband  remained  among  the  Indians,  she  re- 
turned to  her  father's.  But  the  change  has  not  re- 
stored her  health ;  and  owing  to  her  continued  ill- 
ness, Mr.  Kerr  has  been  induced  to  ask  a  dismission 
from  the  service  of  the  Society,  which  has  been 
granted.  He  will  remain  at  the  station,  till  the  rein- 
forcement lately  sent  out  arrives.     On  the  14th  of 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  153 

March  Mr.  Henry  Bradley  and  his  wife,  and  Mr. 
James  Duncan,  left  Pittsburgh  for  the  Wea  Mission 
Station.  Miss  Henderson,  who,  during  part  of  the 
winter  had  been  on  a  visit  to  her  sick  mother,  since 
deceased,  will  join  them  the  first  suitable  oppor- 
tunity. 

THE    IOWA    MISSION. 

^*  The  Iowa  Mission  comprises  but  one  station,  es- 
tablished among  a  considerable  division  of  the  tribe 
of  that  name,  about  eighty-five  miles  from  the  Weas. 
It  consists  at  present  of  Mr.  Ji.  Ballard  and  wife, 
and  Mr.  E.  M.  Shepjjard.  Two  or  three  schools  were 
sustained  during  most  of  the  last  summer  (1834); 
and  when  the  missionaries  have  found  it  impractica- 
ble regularly  to  assemble  the  children  together,  they 
have  spent  most  of  each  day  in  going  from  lodge  to 
lodge  through  the  village,  and  giving  to  their  pupils 
in  each  family  their  stated  lessons,  accompanying 
them  with  suitable  instructions  to  the  parents  and 
other  members  of  the  family.  The  lowas,  like  other 
tribes,  have  been  much  addicted  to  the  excessive  and 
ruinous  use  of  ardent  spirits.  But  the  mission  has 
already  been  highly  serviceable  in  arresting  the  pro- 
gress and  diminishing  the  evils  of  this  vice  ;  and  the 
missionaries  have  been  a  good  deal  encouraged,  by 
the  apparent  desire  on  the  part  of  many  to  be 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God. 

"  During  the  last  year,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ballard  have 
devoted   their  whole   time   to   the  loway  Indians. 


154  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

Miss  Henderson  during  part  of  the  summer  was  en- 
gaged teaching  the  children.  Great  difficulties  were 
experienced  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  their 
residence.  Under  an  arrangement  made  by  the  go- 
vernment, the  lowas  will  remove  this  spring  from 
their  present  location,  to  the  south  of  the  Missouri 
river,  where  400  sections  have  been  assigned  to 
them  and  the  little  band  of  the  Sacs  of  the  Missouri, 
between  the  great  Nemahaw  and  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  the  Kickapoos.  The  mission  family  have 
been  instructed  to  accompany  them,  and  as  their 
home  is  now  considered  permanent,  the  difficulties 
growing  out  of  an  uncertain  and  temporary  residence 
will  cease.  On  the  14th  of  March  Mr.  Samuel  M. 
Irvine  and  his  wife  left  Pittsburgh,  to  occupy  the 
new  station  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ballard. 

"  From  information  which  they  have  been  enabled 
to  obtain,  the  Committee  believe  that  the  policy  of 
of  the  Board  in  the  establishment  of  missions  among 
our  Western  Indians,  should  contemplate  a  speedy 
extension  of  its  efforts  to  those  more  numerous  and 
distant  tribes,  which  reside  near  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri  and  its  tributary  waters.  Those  people  are 
far  less  debased  and  contaminated,  by  the  borrowed 
vices  and  bad  example  of  our  frontier  settlements. 
They  are  comparative  strangers  to  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits ;  and  many  of  them,  it  is  understood,  arc  well 
inclined  towards  the  great  objects  of  missionary  ef- 
fort." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  mission  to  the  Western 
Indians  consists  of  two  stations ;  which,  by  the  last 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  155 

statement  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary,  stand  as 
follows : 

1.  We  A  Station. — Rev.  John  Fleming, 

Mr.  James  Duncan, 
Mr.  Henry  Bradley,  and 
Mrs.  Bradley. 
The  Church  at  this  station  consists  of  twelve  na- 
tive members,   and   a   number   of   others  seriously 
inquiring  the  way  to  be  saved. 

2.  Iowa  Station. — Rev.  William  Hamilton, 

Mr.  Aurey  Ballard, 
Mr.  Samuel  M.  Irvine,  and 
Miss  Nancy  Henderson. 
During  the  last  year,  this  tribe  sold  their  land  to 
the  United  States,  and  have  received  other  land  in 
exchange.     They  have  removed,  and  are  now  set- 
tled, permanently  it  is  expected,  at  their  new  home. 

MISSION    TO    SMYRNA. 

This  mission  is  not  at  present  in  operation.  It 
seems  proper,  however,  that  the  substance  of  the 
statement  relative  to  it,  contained  in  the  last  Report 
of  the  Society,  should  be  inserted  in  this  Sketch — it 
is  contained  in  the  following  extract : 

"  The  Rev.  Josiah  Brewer,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Brown,  a  printer,  and  his  wife,  as  mentioned  in 
the  last  report,  sailed  from  New  York  the  28th  of 
March,  1836,  and  arrived  at  Smyrna  in  May  follow- 
ing. They  took  with  them  a  printing  press,  and  a 
set  of  book  binder's  instruments.     During  the  last 


156  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

winter  the  Rev.  Wm.  McCombs,  and  Mr.  John 
McClintock,  and  their  wives,  were  set  apart  for 
this  field  of  labour,  and  expected  to  sail  in  the  first 
vessel  leaving  the  United  States.  When  this  re- 
inforcement were  on  the  eve  of  their  departure,  Mr. 
Brown  was  found,  very  unexpectedly,  to  have  re- 
turned to  this  country,  having  left  the  station  without 
apprising  the  Committe  of  his  wish  or  intention  to 
do  so.  The  unauthorized,  and  as  the  Committee 
judged  unnecessary  return  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  his 
ceasing  on  this  account  to  be  longer  connected  with 
them,  made  some  other  measures  on  the  part  of  the 
committee  necessary,  and  brought  under  their  re- 
view the  whole  subject  of  their  mission  to  Asia  Mi- 
nor. 

"  Their  connection  with  Mr.  Brewer  was  on  the 
condition,  that  some  responsible  board  or  association 
should  assume  his  support ;  but  no  such  arrangement 
had  been  reported  to  the  committee,  or  was  known  to 
exist.  Much  dissatisfaction  with  this  connexion  ex- 
isted in  the  minds  of  many  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  in  view  of  which  Mr.  Brewer  had  sig- 
nified his  willingness  that  his  connexion  with  the  So- 
ciety should  be  dissolved,  if  thought  expedient.  Un- 
der all  these  circumstances,  the  Committee,  whilst 
they  entertain  for  Mr.  Brewer  sincere  and  Christian 
regard,  and  a  desire  for  his  success  and  usefulness  in 
the  missionary  field,  deemed  it  best  and  most  expe- 
dient, that  the  contemplated  connexion  between  him 
and  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  should 
be  finally  abandoned.     Though  not  under  their  di- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  157 

rection,  the  Committee  hope  his  valuable  labours 
may  still  be  continued  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 
they  will  always  rejoice  to  hear  that  his  efforts  in 
this  important  field  have  been  owned  and  blessed  by 
the  Head  of  the  Church. 

"  It  will  probably  be  found  expedient  to  assign  one, 
if  not  both  of  the  missionaries,  who  have  been  pre- 
vented from  going  to  Smyrna  by  the  want  of  funds, 
to  some  other  field  of  labour,  where  the  door  of  use- 
fulness is  more  open,  and  the  call  for  assistance  more 
pressing. '^ 

MISSION  TO  CHINA. 

The  remarks  in  the  last  Report  of  the  Society,  in- 
troductory to  the  notice  of  the  appointment  of  this 
mission,  are  so  important  in  themselves,  and  so  ne- 
cessary to  be  known  and  appreciated  throughout  the 
whole  Presbyterian  church  at  the  present  time,  that 
it  has  been  determined  to  quote  the  whole,  although 
of  a  length,  which  but  for  the  considerations  stated, 
would  render  it  improper  to  insert  them  in  this 
sketch.  Immediately  after  announcing  the  Mission 
to  China,  the  report  proceeds  as  follows : 

'^  This  great  people,  not  more  remarkable  for  the 
extent  of  their  territory  and  the  number  of  their 
population,  than  for  their  entire  ignorance  of  the  true 
God,  have  of  late  engaged  the  thoughts  of  professing 
Christians,  in  all  parts  of  our  country.  The  remarka- 
ble fact  that  one-fourth,  or  perhaps  one-third  of  the 
human  race,  read  one  language,  ought  long  ere  now 
14 


158  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

to  have  called  for  the  exertion  of  every  friend  of 
missions  and  of  the  bible,  to  give  to  them  that  bles- 
sed book,  in  numbers  somewhat  proportionable  to  the 
demand.  But  alas  !  a  few  small  editions  of  the  Chi- 
nese Bible  is  the  entire  supply,  for  these  hundreds  of 
millions.  The  missionary  and  tract  societies  of  our 
own  and  other  countries,  have  of  late  years  been 
most  usefully  employed,  in  furnishing  tracts  and 
scripture  histories;  but  all  that  has  yet  been  done, 
cannot  bear  any  comparison  to  what  is  yet  wanted. 
The  impression  that  China  is  closed  to  missionary 
exertions,  seems  yet  to  rest  like  an  incubus  on  the 
minds  of  Christians,  and  to  paralize  and  throw  doubt 
on  every  exertion  in  her  behalf.  China  is  closed  in 
some  respects,  but  China  is  open  and  waiting  for  the 
Gospel  in  others.  The  government  of  China,  fearful 
of  European  politics,  and  still  remembering  the  in- 
trigues of  the  agents  of  the  church  of  Rome,  have 
forbidden  the  residence  of  foreigners  within  their 
limits,  except  at  one  designated  point.  The  govern- 
ment do  not  permit  even  their  language  to  be  taught, 
nor  their  books  to  be  sold  to  foreigners.  They  for- 
bid also  the  reading  of  any  books  brought  by  foreign- 
ers. They  permit  no  schools  to  be  taught  by  them, 
nor  printing  presses  to  be  established.  New  edicts 
make  their  appearance  from  time  to  time;  but  these 
prohibitions  are  of  long  standing.  Notwithstanding 
these  measures,  the  people  of  China  are  anxious  to  re- 
ceive our  religious,  scientific,  and  historical  books; 
and  if  instead  of  five  thousand  copies  of  tlie  bible,  we 
had  half  a  million,  and  prudent  and  qualified  men  to 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  159 

distribute  them,  it  would  not  be  long  before  they 
would  be  in  circulation,  in  the  most  thickly  settled 
part  of  the  empire.  All  the  Mandarins  and  all  the 
military  officers,  could  not  prevent  their  teeming  mil- 
lions from  receiving  and  reading  them.  It  ill  be- 
comes the  Church  to  be  discouraged,  till  the  missiona- 
ries abroad  report  to  them  that  nothing  more  can  be 
done.  In  other  respects,  China  is  open  and  perfectly 
accessible  to  missionary  labours.  In  every  island  in 
the  Eastern  Archipelago,  Chinese  emigrants  are  to  be 
found,  mostly  residing  together ;  and  only  men  of  a 
right  spirit,  sustained  by  the  prayers  and  the  contri- 
butions of  the  churches,  are  wanted,  to  carry  to  these 
accessible  perishing  thousands,  the  bread  of  life. 
These  emigrants,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  are  con- 
nected with  the  population  at  home ;  many  are  con- 
stantly coming  and  returning ;  and  thus  affording  fa- 
cilities and  opportunities  to  disseminate  printed  books, 
to  a  great  extent.  The  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the 
Chinese  population,  engaged  in  fishing,  far  out  of 
sight  of  land,  and  in  large  companies  together,  ought 
neither  to  be  overlooked  nor  neglected.  The  at- 
tempt to  supply  them  with  printed  or  oral  instruc- 
tion, might  not  in  all  cases  be  permitted,  because  they 
are  for  the  most  part  accompanied  by  war  boats. 
But  let  the  trial  be  made.  It  may  be  found  that 
these  very  war  boats,  will  be  the  first  to  receive  the 
words  of  life. 

"  Heretofore  the  Chinese  printing  has  been  almost 
entirely  performed  in  the  Chinese  manner,  on  blocks 
of  wood.     The  preparation  of  these  blocks  requires 


160  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

the  employment  of  Chinese  artists.  Hence  nothing 
could  be  done  without  their  assistance.  The  Chi- 
nese language  has  no  alphabet,  every  character  re- 
presents either  a  word  or  an  idea.  Their  number  is 
estimated  by  Dr.  Marshman  at  30,000.  The  ex- 
pense of  preparing  steel  punches  and  matrices  for 
such  a  number  would  be  so  great,  that  till  lately  no 
attempt  has  been  made  to  supply  the  whole.  Be- 
sides the  expense,  the  difficulty  of  arranging  30,000 
diflferent  characters  in  a  printing  office,  so  as  to  be 
manageable  by  the  printer,  is  seen  at  once  to  be  too 
great  for  practical  purposes.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Dyer  at 
Penang,  has  been  for  some  time  engaged  with  good 
success,  in  preparing  steel  punches  and  matrices  for 
two  or  three  thousand  of  the  characters  most  in  use. 
These  types  when  prepared  can  be  used  in  the  com- 
mon printing  press,  and  even  that  number  of  charac- 
ters will  afford  great  facility  in  Chinese  printing. 
Still  it  is  most  desirable,  that  when  the  missionaries 
have  acquired  a  full  knowledge  of  the  language,  they 
should  have  the  advantage  of  using  any  character  in 
it  they  might  prefer,  in  translating  or  explaining  the 
Bible,  or  in  writing  their  other  publications.  This 
most  important  discovery  has  quite  lately  been  made. 
More  than  thirty  years  ago.  Dr.  Marshman  disco- 
vered that  most  of  the  Chinese  characters  consisted 
of  two  elements,  which  he  called  formatives  and 
primatives.  He  pointed  out  this  principle  to  the 
student  of  the  language  with  great  clearness,  as  one 
of  great  importance  for  him  to  know.  Dr.  Marsh- 
man does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  how  very 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  161 

important  this  discovery  was,  in  relation  to  the  pre- 
paration of  a  body  of  metal  type  for  the  whole  lan- 
guage. Pursuing  the  subject  with  the  light  thus  af- 
forded by  this  venerable  and  able  missionary,  the 
Chinese  scholars  in  Paris  carried  it  one  step  farther, 
in  reference  solely  to  printing.  They  divided  the 
whole  language  into  two  classes  of  divisible  and  in- 
divisible characters,  and  by  a  careful  examination  of 
the  divisible  characters,  and  a  reduction  of  them  to 
their  most  simple  elements,  it  appeared  that  with 
9000  punches  and  matrices,  the  whole  30,000  cha- 
racters can  be  formed.  By  arranging  and  number- 
ing these  9000  elements  under  their  respective 
keys,  the  whole  presents  but  little  more  difficulty 
than  a  common  English  printing  office. 

"  The  Committee  are  much  indebted  to  the  Rev. 
Robert  Baird,  now  in  Paris,  for  the  promptitude  and 
ability  with  which  he  answered  all  their  letters  in 
relation  to  this  subject.  He  also  forwarded  speci- 
mens of  the  printing,  which  in  beauty  of  form  and 
perfection  of  finish,  excel  any  Chinese  printing  with 
which  they  have  yet  been  compared  in  this  country. 
An  experienced  typographer  has  engaged  to  furnish 
matrices  for  the  whole,  or  for  part  of  the  language,  as 
individuals  or  societies  may  order.  Deeming  the 
subject  of  the  first  importance,  in  reference  to  the 
present  condition  of  China,  the  Committee,  in  Octo- 
ber last,  ordered  a  set  of  matrices  for  the  whole  lan- 
guage, and  forwarded  ^500  in  part  payment.  The 
expense  at  first  was  stated  to  be  nearly  j^5000,  but 
by  later  information  from  Mr.  Baird,  some  additional 
14* 


162  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

charges  for  polishing,  preparing,  and  numbering  the 
matrices,  amounting  to  ^1600  must  be  added.  The 
payment  of  this  additional  sum  has  been  assumed  by 
a  single  individual,  which,  in  the  present  state  of 
their  funds,  very  much  relieved  the  Committee. 
There  is  also  some  uncertainty,  whether  the  whole 
number  of  matrices  will  be  made.  The  typographer 
states,  that  for  less  than  two  orders,  he  cannot  afford 
the  expense  of  completing  the  whole  set.  No  other 
society,  either  in  Europe  or  the  United  States,  has 
ordered  a  full  set;  but  the  last  advices  are  favourable 
to  a  second  order  being  given  by  the  Royal  Printing 
Establishment  of  France.  A  number  however  that 
will  be  of  essential  service  will  be  obtained,  some  of 
which  are  already  made.  With  some  delay,  the 
whole  of  the  remainder  can  be  furnished  by  Ameri- 
can artists,  at  a  small  increase  of  expense. 

"  The  Committee  had  previously  decided  to  send 
a  mission  to  China,  as  large  and  efficient  as  the  means 
placed  in  their  hands  v/ould  justify.  For  this  mis- 
sion there  have  been  designated  two  ordained  minis- 
ters, one  physician,  and  one  printer.  If  the  means 
were  afforded,  these  brethren  wouM  in  a  few  weeks 
be  on  their  way.  At  presen  there  are  not  means  to 
send  them  forward ;  but  the  Committee  hope  the 
delay  will  be  short ;  they  trust  the  time  is  nearly 
past,  when  the  Presbyterian  church  will  continue  to 
stand  with  her  arms  folded,  while  the  millions  of 
China  are  perishing  in  her  sight." 

The  writer  greatly  rejoices  that  he  is  able  to  state, 
that  the  Rev.  John  A.  Mitchell,  and  the  Rev.  R.  W. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  163 

Orr,  and  Mrs.  Orr,  forming  an  incipient  mission  to 
China,  sailed  for  the  port  of  their  destination,  in  De- 
cember last,  (1837).  A  physician  is  delayed  for  the 
want  of  means  to  send  him  out.  The  matrices  for 
the  Chinese  metal  types  are  in  preparation  at  Paris, 
with  much  promise  of  complete  success. 

PROJECTED    OR    PROSPECTIVE    MISSIONS. 

The  Institution  whose  missions  have  now  been 
noticed,  is  still  in  its  infancy.  Those  who  conducted 
its  operations  before  it  was  received  under  the  pa- 
tronage of  the  General  Assembly,  as  well  as  those 
who  now  manage  its  concerns,  have  been  obliged  to 
do  what  they  found  to  be  practicable,  and  to  fore- 
go much,  very  much,  that  they  felt  to  be  desirable. 
Often  it  was  difficult,  as  they  could  do  but  little,  to 
say  who,  among  the  multitude  hastening  to  perdi- 
tion, they  would  first  attempt  to  save.  The  hea- 
then nations  were  spread  out  before  them,  like  men 
perishing  by  a  mighty  shipwreck,  and  as  their  little 
relief  bark  could  only  go  to  one  here,  and  another 
there,  the  question  was  embarrassing,  what  indi- 
viduals of  the  sinking  throng  they  would  immedi- 
ately strive  to  rescue.  Hence  in  their  report  they 
point  to  so  many  fields  of  usefulness  which  they  saw 
it  to  be  desirable,  yet  found  it  to  be  impracticable,  to 
essay  to  enter,  till  their  means  should  be  greatly  en- 
larged. In  their  report  on  their  Northern  India  and 
China  missions,  they  point  to  regions  of  heathen 
desolation,  which   all   the   missions  now  in  action 


164  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

throughout  the  world,  would  but  very  partially  sup- 
ply. Beside  what  they  there  say,  toward  the  close 
of  their  last  report,  they  give  a  distinct  article  which 
they  entitle  "  additional  missions,"  and  then  add : 
"  In  view  of  the  amount  of  means  that  might  be 
contributed  by  the  churches  connected  with  the  So- 
ciety, the  Committee  believed  it  to  be  their  duty,  to 
bring  into  view  other  stations,  which  ought  to  be  oc- 
cupied. Two  of  these  would  be,  the  enlargement  of 
missionary  operations  among  the  Indian  tribes,  an- 
other a  mission  to  Calcutta,  and  another  a  mission  to 
China. '^* 

INDIAN    TRIBES. 

In  their  last  report  the  committee  say — "  Beyond 
the  limits  of  the  respective  States,  and  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  are  40  tribes  of  various  sizes,  con- 
taining a  population  of  near  200,000.  Ten  other 
tribes,  or  parts  of  tribes,  east  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
with  a  population  of  50,000,  are  under  treaty  stipu- 
lations to  remove  west  of  that  river;  thus  making 
an  aggregate  of  250,000,  all  more  or  less  accessible 
to  the  labours  of  the  missionary. 

"The  Indian  territory,  as  designated  by  the  com- 
missioners to  apportion  it  among  the  different  tribes, 
is  bounded  by  Red  river  on  the  south,  and  the  Mis- 

*  This  report,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  made,  while  as  yet 
the  mission,  since  gone  to  China,  could  not  proceed  for  want 
of  the  necessary  funds.  The  same  want  still  renders  it  very 
imperfect. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  165 

souri  and  Platte  rivers  on  the  north ;  and  is  estima- 
ted to  contain  206,738  square  miles — a  country  more 
than  three  times  the  size  of  the  six  New  England 
states,  and  more  than  four  times  the  size  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Upwards  of  45,000  Indians  have  already 
emigrated  to  this  territory,  which,  with  6500  Kan- 
zas  and  Osages  residing  there,  and  50,000,  under 
treaty  stipulations  to  remove  within  its  limits,  will 
make  a  population,  of  more  than  100,000.  Here  are 
no  interferences  with  the  jurisdiction  or  rights  of 
any  of  the  States ;  and  the  whole  Indian  territory 
will  be  held  by  them,  under  the  solemn  guarantee 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  In  every 
treaty,  the  most  ample  provision  has  been  made  for 
the  support  of  schools,  and  for  teaching  agriculture 
and  the  most  simple  of  the  mechanic  arts.  It  is  a 
most  important  question,  will  this  experiment  of  the 
government,  in  thus  providing  a  permanent  home, 
save  the  remnants  of  this  noble  race,  from  the  me- 
lancholy destiny  of  those  who  have  perished  before 
the  advance  of  the  white  man  ?  Is  it  practicable  to 
elevate  the  mass  of  this  population,  so  that  in  time 
they  may  safely  be  entrusted  with  all  the  rights 
of  citizens,  and  be  brought  into  the  Union,  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  original  States  ?  It  would  not 
be  difficult  to  prove,  that  if  the  proper  means  are 
used,  both  these  questions  may  be  safely  answered  in 
the  affirmative.  But  leaving  this  discussion  as  not 
properly  belonging  to  this  report,  the  Committee 
would  notice  but  one  aspect  of  the  question.  This 
experiment  will  fail  most  certainly,  unless  the  Indi- 


166  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

ans  are  made  acquainted  with  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  How  important  then  is  the  agency  the 
Church  has  to  perform ;  and  how  great  will  be  her 
guilt,  if  from  apathy  the  part  assigned  to  her  is  left 
undone,  and  thereby  all  the  other  efforts  fail !  In 
view  of  this  responsibility,  the  Committee  have  de- 
cided, that  as  soon  as  they  can  obtain  qualified  men, 
and  the  means  are  afforded,  to  occupy  suitable  sta- 
tions in  the  Indian  territory,  and  thus  to  aid  in  send- 
ing the  Gospel  to  every  tribe  and  people  within  its 
limits. 

"  The  Committee  had  also  in  contemplation  to 
send  a  mission  to  the  Mandan  Indians.  They  re- 
side high  up  on  the  Missouri,  and  have  a  population 
of  15,000.  There  are  many  considerations  in  favour 
of  a  station  so  remote  from  the  white  population  on 
the  borders  of  the  settlements.  There  are  also  dis- 
advantages. The  Committee  are  not  prepared  at  pre- 
sent to  occupy  this  station ;  and  this  mission  must 
wait  till  the  spirit  of  the  churches  has  reached  a 
higher  elevation  in  favour  of  foreign  missions.  In 
the  mean  time  the  Committee  will  seek  for  the  best 
information  in  relation  to  all  the  tribes  upon  our 
borders. 


MISSION    TO    CALCUTTA. 

"  Looking  to  our  large  and  extending  missionary 
establishments  in  Upper  India,  the  Committee  have 
decided  to  establish  a  mission  at  Calcutta.  Through 
this  place  all  the  remittances  and  supplies  for  the  up- 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  167 

per  stations  must  be  sent.  This  city  is  the  seat  of 
the  British  Government  in  India.  It  is  crowded  and 
surrounded  by  a  heathen  population ;  and  the  devo- 
ted labourers  from  other  societies  now  there,  are 
anxiously  looking  to  this  country  for  assistance  in 
this  arduous  work. 

"  The  committee  have  not  definitely  selected  any 
other  stations  in  India.  What  additional  points  they 
may  be  able  to  occupy,  will  depend  on  the  men  and 
the  means  which  may  be  at  their  disposal.  A  press- 
ing call  has  been  made  in  favour  of  Munipore,  a  sta- 
tion about  half  way  between  Calcutta  and  Ava,  and 
on  the  direct  road  between  the  two  cities.  Various 
stations  on  the  Ganges  above  Benares  are  very  eligi- 
ble, and  call  loudly  on  the  churches  to  occupy  them. 
It  is  the  wish  of  the  committee,  as  soon  as  practica- 
ble, to  make  arrangements  for  occupying  one  or 
more  stations,  at  or  above  Allahabad.*  All  these 
stations  would  be  on  the  direct  travelling  road  from 
Calcutta  to  Lodiana." 

THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  CHRONICLE. 

This  publication  was  commenced  by  the  Western 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  in  the  second  )^ear 
(1833)  of  its  existence,  and  has  been  regularly  con- 
tinued ever  since.  It  consisted  at  first  of  a  single 
sheet,  but  is  now  extended   to  two   sheets;  and  is 


*  This  station  is  now  occupied  by  a  part  of  llie  last  mission- 
aries sent  to  India. 


168  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

printed  in  a  very  handsome  style,  and  great  care  is 
taken  to  distribute  it  regularly.  No  Presbyterian 
family  ought  to  be  without  this  publication,  what- 
ever be  the  number  or  character  of  the  other  publica- 
tions which  it  receives.  The  price  is  only  one  dollar 
per  annum,  with  a  most  liberal  allowance  to  agents. 
A  very  particular  attention  is  due  to  the  following 
statement,  which  appeared  on  the  cover  of  the  Janu- 
ary number  of  the  present  year  (1838). 

"  At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
in  Baltimore,  it  was  decided  that  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Chronicle  should  be  enlarged.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  our  churches  should  be  able  to  take  an  in- 
telligent interest  in  the  proceedings  of  our  own  Mis- 
sionary brethren,  and  to  offer  appropriate  prayers  to 
God  in  their  behalf;  and  it  is,  also,  desirable  that 
every  Christian  should  form  comprehensive  view^s  of 
the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world. 
Our  narrow  limits  have,  heretofore,  restricted  the 
amount  of  information  in  regard  to  these  objects, 
which  we  have  desired  to  communicate.  In  future 
we  hope  to  give  our  readers  a  partlcalar  account 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  general 
view  of  the  transactions  of  other  benevolent  Insti- 
tutions;  with  occasional  orignal  communications; 
biographical  sketches  of  persons  engaged  in  mission- 
ary duty,  and  of  converted  heathens ;  notices  of 
books  relating  to  missions ;  and  such  other  general 
information  as  may  be  adapted  to  interest  the  minds 
of  intelligent  and    reflecting  readers.     We  wish  to 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  169 

make  the  Foreign  Missionary  Chronicle  so  far  a  per- 
fect Missionary  work,  that  those  persons  whose 
means  will  not  justify  them  in  taking  more  than  one 
periodical  of  this  kind,  and  those  also  whose  duties 
will  not  permit  them  to  read  more  than  one,  will 
alike  find  this  Magazine  adapted  to  their  wishes. 

^^  The  Chronicle  will  continue  to  be  published  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Executive  Committee.  We 
are  well  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  conducting  a  work 
of  this  kind,  in  such  a  way  as  to  meet  the  views  and 
wishes  of  all  classes  of  its  readers.  The  outline  pre- 
sented above,  describes  the  manner  in  which  we 
wish  to  have  it  conducted.  We  hope  that  it  will 
prove  a  useful  auxiliary  to  clergymen,  and  to  indi- 
vidual Christians,  who  wish  to  co-operate  w^ith  the 
Board  of  their  own  Church  in  this  sacred  cause.  It 
may  perhaps  become  the  best,  and  yet  the  least  ex- 
pensive agent,  which  the  Board  could  employ  among 
the  churches. 

^'  May  we  not  hope,  therefore,  to  receive  the  kind 
countenance  of  Christian  friends,  in  sustaining  and 
extending  the  circulation  of  this  work  ?  To  the  mi- 
nisters of  our  churches  we  respectfully  suggest  the 
propriety  of  recommending  it  to  their  people  from 
the  pulpit,  and  on  other  occasions.  We  know  that, 
commonly,  the  degree  of  interest  which  any  people 
manifest  in  the  subject  of  missions,  is  in  precise  pro- 
portion to  the  missionary  intelligence  which  they 
possess.  We  would,  also,  solicit  the  assistance  of  all 
who  are  friendly  to  this  Board,  in  procuring  addi- 
tional subscribers  to  the  Chronicle.  Its  circulation 
15 


170  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

might,  we  suppose,  at  once  be  increased  many  thou- 
sands ;  and  the  present  seems  to  be  the  most  suitable 
time,  for  making  efforts  to  secure  for  it  a  support 
worthy  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  of  the  cause 
in  whose  service  it  is  employed/' 


TRANSFER    OF    THE    WESTERN    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY 
SOCIETY. 

It  only  remains  to  trace  the  proceeding  which 
resulted  in  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  from  the  Board  of  Directors  de- 
riving their  authority  from  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  constituted  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
that  church  in  the  United  States. 

The  Convention  which  met  at  Pittsburgh,  in  May 
1835,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  signers  of  the 
Act  and  Testimony ^  issued  after  the  rising  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  preceding  year,  was  the 
first  public  body  that  adopted  any  decisive  measures 
on  this  subject.  The  Act  of  the  Convention  referred 
to,  was  expressed  in  the  following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  Tliat  the  Committee  on  the  memorial 
be  instructed  to  present  to  the  General  Assembly  the 
solemn  conviction  of  this  Convention,  that  the  Pres- 
byterian church  owes  it  as  a  sacred  duty  to  her  glo- 
rified Head,  to  yield  a  far  more  exemplary  obedi- 
ence, (and  that  in  her  distinctive  character  as  a 
church,)  to  the  command  which  he  gave  at  his  ascen- 
sion into  heaven :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  171 

preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  It  is  believed 
to  be  among  the  causes  of  the  frowns  of  the  great 
Head  of  the  church,  which  are  now  resting  on  our 
beloved  Zion,  in  the  declension  of  vital  piety  and 
the  disorders  and  divisions  that  distract  us,  that  we 
have  done  so  little — comparatively  nothing — in  our 
distinctive  character'  as  a  Church  of  Christ,  to  send 
the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  the  Jews,  and  the  Mo- 
hamedans.  It  is  regarded  as  of  vital  importance  to 
the  welfare  of  our  Church,  that  foreign  as  well  as  do- 
mestic missions  should  be  more  zealously  prosecuted, 
and  more  liberally  patronized  ;  and  that,  as  a  nucleus 
of  foreign  missionary  effort  and  operation,  the  Wes- 
tern Foreign  Missionary  Society  should  receive  the 
countenance,  as  it  appears  to  us  to  merit  the  confi- 
dence, of  those  who  cherish  an  attachment  to  the 
doctrines  and  order  of  the  Church  to  which  we 
belong. 

"  After  some  discussion,  the  above  document  was 
committed  to  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Blythe,  Cuyler,  and 
Witherspoon,  with  instructions  to  introduce  the  sub- 
ject to  the  notice  of  the  General  Assembly,  through 
the  Committee  on  Bills  and  Overtures." 

Agreeably  to  their  appointment,  the  Committee 
on  the  Memorial  of  the  Convention  presented  the 
foregoing  resolution  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
1835.  The  action  of  the  Assembly  on  the  subject,  is 
contained  in  the  following  extracts  from  their  re- 
cords : 

"  The  Committee  on  Overture,  No.  24,  reported 


172  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

and  their  report  was  accepted  and  adopted,  and  is  as 
follows :   viz. 

"  The  Committee  on  the  papers  submitted  to  them 
in  relation  to  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  re- 
solutions: viz. 

"  I.  That  it  is  the  solemn  conviction  of  this  Gene- 
ral Assembly  that  the  Presbyterian  church  owes  it 
as  a  sacred  duty  to  her  glorified  Head,  to  yield  a  far 
more  exemplary  obedience,  and  that  in  her  distinc- 
tive character  as  a  church,  to  the  command  which  he 
gave  at  his  ascension  into  Heaven, — '  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.' 
It  is  believed  to  be  among  the  causes  of  the  frowns 
of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  which  are  now  rest- 
ing on  our  beloved  Zion,  in  the  declension  of  vital 
piety  and  the  disorders  and  divisions  that  distract  us, 
that  we  have  done  so  little — comparatively  nothing 
— in  our  distinctive  character  as  a  Church  of 
t^hrist,  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen,  the  Jews, 
and  the  Mohamedans.  It  is  regarded  as  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  welfare  of  our  Church,  that  foreign  as 
w^ell  as  domestic  missions  should  be  more  zealously 
prosecuted,  and  more  liberally  patronized ;  and  that 
as  a  nucleus  of  Foreign  Missionary  effort  and  opera- 
tion, the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  should 
receive  the  countenance,  as  it  appears  to  us  to  merit 
the  confidence,  of  those  who  cherish  an  attachment 
to  the  doctrines  and  order  of  the  Church  to  which  we 
belong. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  173 

"II.  Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  subject  of 
a  transfer  of  the  supervision  of  the  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  now  under  the  direction  of  that 
Synod ;  to  ascertain  the  terms  on  which  such  transfer 
can  be  made,  to  devise  and  digest  a  plan  of  conduct- 
ing Foreign  Missions  under  the  direction  of  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  re- 
port the  whole  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

"Dr.  Cuyler,  Dr.  Cummins,  Dr.  Hoge,  Mr.  Wi- 
therspoon,  and  Dr.  Edgar  were  appointed  this  Com- 
mittee." 

On  the  second  day  after  adopting  the  foregoing  re- 
port of  their  Committee,  the  General  Assembly 
passed  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  subject  of  a 
transfer  of  the  supervision  of  the  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  to  the  General  Assembly,  be  au- 
thorized, if  they  shall  approve  of  the  said  transfer,  to 
ratify  and  confirm  the  same  with  the  said  Synod,  and 
report  the  same  to  the  next  General  Assembly." 

The  committee  appointed  by  this  resolution  made 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  1836  the  following  re- 
port: 

"  The  committee  appointed  by  the  last  Assembly, 
on  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  to  the  General  Assembly,  made  a  report, 
which  was  read  and  accepted,  and  is  as  follows  :  viz. 

"The  committee  appointed  under  the  following 
resolution  of  the  last  General  Assembly:  viz. 
15* 


174  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

"  ^  Resolved,  Tliat  the  committee  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  subject  of 
a  transfer  of  the  supervision  of  the  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  to  the  General  Assembly,  be  au- 
thorized, if  they  shall  approve  of  the  said  transfer,  to 
ratify  and  confirm  the  same  with  the  said  Synod,  and 
report  the  same  to  the  next  General  Assembly,^  beg 
leave  to  report — That  they  submitted  the  following 
terms  of  agreement  to  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  at 
its  sessions  last  fall,  and  that  it  was  duly  ratified  by 
that  body,  as  will  fully  appear  by  its  minutes. 

"  Terms  of  agreement  l^etween  the  committee  of 
the  General  Assembly  and  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
in  reference  to  the  transfer  of  tlie  Western  Foreign 
Missionar}^  Society. 

"  \.  The  General  Assembly  will  assume  the  su- 
pervision and  control  of  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  from  and  after  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  said  Assembly,  and  will  thereafter  su- 
perintend and  conduct,  by  its  own  proper  authority, 
the  work  of  foreign  missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  by  a  board  especially  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  directly  amenable  to  said  Assembly.  And 
the  Synod  of  Pittsbrugh  docs  hereby  transfer  to  that 
body,  all  its  supervision  and  control  over  the  mis- 
sions and  operations  of  the  Western  Foreign  Society, 
from  and  after  the  adoption  of  this  minute ;  and  au- 
thorizes and  directs  said  Society  to  perform  every 
act  necessary  to  complete  said  transfer,  when  the 
Assembly  shall  have  appointed  its  board ;  it  being 
expressly  understood,  that  the  said  Assembly  will 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  175 

never  hereafter  alienate  or  transfer  to  any  other  ju- 
dicatory or  board  whatever,  the  direct  supervision 
and  managenfient  of  the  said  missions,  or  those  which 
may  hereafter  be  established  by  the  Board  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

"  2.  The  General  Assembly  shall,  at  its  next  meet- 
ing, choose  forty  ministers  and  forty  laymen,  and  an- 
nually thereafter  ten  ministers  and  ten  laymen,  as 
members  of  the  board  of  foreign  missions,  whose 
term  of  office  shall  be  four  years ;  and  these  forty 
ministers  and  forty  laymen,  so  appointed,  shall 
constitute  a  board,  to  be  styled  ^  The  Board  of  Fo- 
reign Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States ;'  to  which,  for  the  time  being,  shall 
be  entrusted,  with  such  directions  and  instructions  as 
may  from  time  to  time  be  given,  the  superintendence 
of  the  foreign  missionary  operations  of  the  Presby- 
terian church ;  who  shall  make  annually  to  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly  a  report  of  their  proceedings ;  and 
submit  for  its  approval  such  plans  and  measures  as 
may  be  deemed  useful  and  necessary.  Until  the 
transfer  shall  have  been  completed,  the  business 
shall  be  conducted  by  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

''  3.  The  board  of  directors  shall  hold  a  meeting 
annually,  at  some  convenient  time  during  the  ses- 
sions of  the  General  Assembly,  at  which  it  shall  ap- 
point a  president,  vice-president,  a  corresponding 
secretary,  a  recording  secretary,  a  treasurer,  general 
agents,  and  an  executive  committee,  to  serve  for  the 
ensuMig  year.    It  shall  belong  to  the  board  to  receive 


176  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

and  dispose  of  their  annual  report,  and  present  a  state- 
ment of  their  proceedings  to  the  General  Assembly. 
It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  directors  to  meet 
for  the  transaction  of  business  as  often  as  may  be  ex- 
pedient, due  notice  of  every  special  meeting  being 
given  to  every  member  of  the  board.  It  is  recom- 
mended to  the  board  to  hold,  in  diflferent  parts  of  the 
church,  at  least  one  public  meeting  annually,  to  pro- 
mote and  diffuse  a  livelier  interest  in  the  foreign 
missionary  cause. 

"  4.  To  the  executive  committee,  consisting  of 
not  more  than  seven  members,  besides  the  corres- 
ponding secretary  and  treasurer,  shall  belong  the 
duty  of  appointing  all  missionaries  and  missionary 
agents,  except  those  otherwise  provided  for ;  of  de- 
signating their  fields  of  labour,  receiving  the  reports 
of  the  corresponding  secretary,  and  giving  him  need- 
ful directions  in  reference  to  all  matters  of  business 
and  correspondence  entrusted  to  him ;  to  authorize 
all  appropriations  and  expenditures  of  money  ;  and 
to  take  the  particular  direction  and  management  of 
the  foreign  missionary  work,  subject  to  the  revision 
of  the  board  of  directors.  The  executive  committee 
shall  meet  at  least  once  a  month,  and  oftener  if  ne- 
cessary; of  whom  three  members,  meeting  at  the 
time  and  place  of  adjournment  or  special  call,  shall 
constitute  a  quorum.  The  committee  shall  have 
power  to  fill  their  own  vacancies,  if  any  occur 
during  a  recess  of  the  l)Gard. 

"  5.  All  property,  houses,  lands,  tenements,  and 
permanent  funds,  belonging  to  the  board  of  foreign 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  177 

missions  to  be  constituted  by  this  agreement,  shall  be 
taken  in  the  name  of  the  Trustees  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  held  in  trust  by  them,  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  the  board  of  foreign  missions  for  the  time 
being. 

"  6.  The  seat  of  the  operations  of  the  board  shall 
be  designated  by  the  General  Assembly. 

"  After  some  discussion,  the  above  report  was 
committed  to  Dr.  Phillips,  Mr.  Scovel,  Dr.  Skin- 
ner, Dr.  Dunlap,  and  Mr.  Evving,  who  were  autho- 
rized to  review  the  whole  case,  and  present  it  for  the 
consideration  of  this  Assembly. 

"  Resolved^  That  the  report  of  this  committee  be 
the  order  of  the  day  for  Thursday  morning  at  10 
o'clock,  or  earlier  if  prepared." 

The  comniittee  appointed  at  the  close  of  the  fore- 
going minute,  made- the  following  report : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  report 
of  the  committee  on  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Fo- 
reign Missionary  Society,  and  an  overture  on  the 
same  subject  from  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  made 
a  report,  which  was  accepted,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  report 
of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  last  Assembly,  on 
the  subject  of  a  transfer  of  the  supervision  of  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  also  the  overture  from  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  on  the  subject  of  foreign  missions,  re- 
port— That  the  attention  of  the  last  Assembly  was 
called  to  the  subject  of  foreign  missions  by  the  fol- 


178  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

lowing  overture,  viz.  on  page  31  of  printed  min- 
utes :" 

The  committee  here  recite  what  was  done  in  the 
preceding  year,  as  already  stated,  and  which  need 
not  be  repeated.  They  then  continue  in  their  re- 
port as  follows  : 

"  Thus  it  appears,  that  the  proposition  to  confer 
with  the  Synod,  and  to  assume  the  supervision  and 
control  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
originated  in  the  Assembly. 

"  At  that  time  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  was  in  a  prosperous  condition,  enjoying  the 
confidence  and  receiving  the  patronage  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  our  churches,  having  in  their  em- 
ploy about  twenty  missionaries,  and  their  funds  were 
unembarrassed.  The  committee  having  conferred 
with  some  of  the  members  of  that  Society,  and  find- 
ing that  the  proposition  was  favourably  regarded  by 
them,  indulging  the  hope  that  an  arrangement  might 
be  definitely  made  with  the  Synod  at  their  next 
stated  meeting,  by  which  the  Assembly  would  be 
prepared  to  enter  on  the  work  at  their  present  ses- 
sions, brought  the  subject  again  before  the  Assembly, 
when  it  was,  after  mature  deliberation,    . 

*^ '  Resolved^  That  the  committee  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  subject 
of  a  transfer  of  the  supervision  of  the  Western  Fo- 
reign Missionary  Society  to  the  General  Assembly, 
be  authorized,  if  they  shall  approve  of  the  said 
transfer,  to   ratify   and   confirm  the  same  with  the 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  179 

said  Synod,  and  report  the  same  to  the  next  Assem- 
bly.'—p.  33. 

"  The  committee  thus  appointed,  and  clothed  with 
full  powers  to  ratify  and  confirm  a  transfer,  submit- 
ted the  terms  on  which  they  were  willing  to  accept 
it,  to  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  at  their  sessions  last 
Fall. 

'^  The  members  of  the  committee  not  being  pre- 
sent at  the  meeting  of  the  Synod,  and  there  being  no 
time  for  further  correspondence,  the  Synod,  (al- 
though they  would  have  preferred  some  alterations 
of  the  terms,)  were  precluded  from  proposing  any, 
on  the  ground  that  such  alteration  would  vitiate  the 
whole  proceedings,  and  therefore  acceded  to  the 
terms  of  the  transfer  which  were  projjosed  by  the 
committee  of  the  Assembly,  and  solemnly  ratified 
the  contract  on  their  part.  Feeling  themselves 
bound  by  the  same,  and  trusting  to  the  good  faith  of 
this  body,  they  have  acted  accordingly,  and  have 
made  no  provision  for  their  missionaries  now  in  the 
field,  for  a  longer  time  than  the  meeting  of  this  As- 
sembly, having  informed  them  of  the  transfer  which 
has  taken  place,  and  of  the  new  relation  they  would 
sustain  to  this  body  after  their  present  sessions. 

*'  It  appears  then  to  your  committee,  that  the  As- 
sembly have  entered  into  a  solemn  compact  with 
the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  and  that  there  remains  but 
one  righteous  course  to  pursue,  which  is  to  adopt  the 
report  of  the  committee  appointed  last  year,  and  to 
appoint  a  Foreign  Missionary  Board.  To  pause 
now,  or  to  annul  the  doings  of  the  last  Assembly 


180  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

in  this  matter,  would  be  obviously  a  violation  of  con- 
tract, a  breach  of  trust,  and  a  departure  from  that 
good  faith  which  should  be  sacredly  kept  between 
man  and  man,  and  especially  between  Christian  so- 
cieties— conduct  which  would  be  utterly  unworthy 
of  this  venerable  body,  and  highly  injurious  to  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionar}'  Society. 

"The  Committe  beg  leave  further  respectfully  to 
remind  the  Assembly,  that  a  large  proportion  of  our 
churches  (being  Presbyterians  from  conviction  and 
preference,)  feel  it  to  be  consistent  not  only,  but 
their  solemn  duty  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  impart  to 
others  the  same  good,  and  in  the  same  form  of  it 
which  they  enjoy  themselves,  and  to  be  represented 
in  heathen  lands  by  missionaries  of  their  own  deno- 
mination. They  greatly  prefer  such  an  org^anization 
as  this  contemplated,  and  which  shall  be  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  cannot  be  en- 
listed so  well  in  the  great  and  glorious  work  of  send- 
ing the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen,  under  anj^  other. 
Already,  with  the  blessing  of  the  great  Head  of  the 
church  on  the  efforts  of  the  Western^  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  this  form  of  operation,  has  a  mis- 
sionary spirit  been  awakened  among  them  to  a  consi- 
derable extent,  and  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions been  created,  never  before  felt  by  them.  They 
have  furnished  7nen  for  the  work,  and  are  contribu- 
ting cheerfully  to  their  support  in  the  foreign  field. 

"  As  one  great  end  to  be  accomplished  by  all  who 
love  the  Redeemer,  is  to  awaken  and  cherish  a  mis- 
sionary spirit,  and  to  enlist  all  the  churches  in  the 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  181 

work  of  evangelizing  the  world ;  as  every  leading 
Christian  denomination  in  the  world,  has  its  own  fo- 
reign missionary  board,  and  has  found  such  distinct 
organization  the  most  effectual  method  of  interesting 
the  churches  under  their  care,  in  this  great  subject ; 
as  such  an  organization  cannot  interfere  with  the 
rights  or  operations  of  any  other  similar  organiza- 
tion, for  the  field  is  the  world  and  is  wide  enough 
for  all  to  cultivate ;  as  it  is  neither  desired  nor  in- 
tended to  dictate  to  any  in  this  matter,  but  simply  to 
give  an  opportunity  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 
Heathen^  by  their  own  missionaries,  to  those  who 
prefer  this  mode  of  doing  so,  giving  them  that  liberty 
which  they  cheerfully  accord  to  others — your  Com- 
mittee cannot  suppose  for  a  moment  that  this  Gene- 
ral Assembly  will,  in  this  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
refuse  to  consummate  this  arrangement  with  the  Sy- 
nod of  Pittsburgh,  and  thus  prevent  so  many  churches 
under  their  care  from  supporting  their  missionaries, 
in  their  own  way.  From  this  view  of  the  case,  they 
recommend  to  the  Assembly  the  adoption  of  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions :    viz. 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Committee 
appointed  by  the  last  Assembly,  to  confer  with  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh  on  the  subject  of  a  transfer  of 
the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly,  be  adopted,  and  that  said  transfer 
be  accepted,  on  the  terms  of  agreement  therein  con- 
tained. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  the  Assembly  will  proceed  to 
16 


182  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

appoint  a  Foreign  Missionary  Board,  the  seat  of 
whose  operations  shall  be  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

"  The  above  report  was  made  the  order  of  the  day 
for  to-morrow  morning  at  9  o'clock." 

The  discussion  in  the  General  Assembly  on  this 
important  concern  was  much  protracted.  The  par- 
ties were  very  nearly  equal  in  numbers,  and  on  both 
sides  deeply  interested.  The  following  are  the  dates 
and  minutes,  exhibited  in  the  record  of  the  proceed- 
ings had  on  the  subject : 

'<  Thursday  morning,  May  26th,  1836. — The  As- 
sembly, agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  day,  took  up 
the  report  of  the  Committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  report  of  the  Committee  of  the  last  Assembly, 
on  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary 
Society. 

"  Dr.  Skinner,  one  of  the  Committee,  who  dissen- 
ted from  this  report,  made  a  counter  report,  which 
was  read,  accepted,  and  is  as  follows: 

"  Whereas,  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  has  been  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  church  from  the  year  of  its  incorpora- 
tion, by  the  very  elements  of  its  existence;  and 
whereas,  at  the  present  time,  the  majority  of  the 
whole  of  that  Board  are  Presbyterians;  and  whereas, 
as  it  is  undesirable,  in  conducting  the  work  of  Fo- 
reign Missions,  that  there  should  be  any  collision  at 
home  or  abroad ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  that  the  Assem- 
bly should  organize  a  separate  Foreign  Missionary 
Institution. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  183 

"  A  motion  was  made  to  adopt  the  report  of  the 
Committee;  after  considerable  discussion,  a  motion 
was  made  to  postpone  the  motion  for  adoption  of  the 
Committee's  report,  with  a  view  to  take  up  the  re- 
port of  Dr.  Skinner.  While  this  motion  was  under 
discussion,  the  Assembly  adjourned  till  this  after- 
noon at  half  past  2  o'clock. 

"  Thursday  afternoon.  May  26. — The  Assembly 
resumed  the  unfinished  business  of  this  morning, 
viz.  the  postponement  of  the  motion  for  the  adoption 
of  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  transfer  of  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society;  after  consi- 
derable time  spent  on  the  subject,  the  further  consi- 
deration of  it  was  suspended,  to  give  an  opportunity 
to  the  Committee  appointed  to  count  the  votes  for 
members  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  to  report. 

"  The  Assembly  resumed  the  subject  of  the  trans- 
fer of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and 
it  was  further  discussed. 

"  Friday  morning,  May  27th. — The  Assembly  re- 
sumed the  consideration  of  the  unfinished  business 
of  last  evening,  viz.  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Fo- 
reign Missionary  Society.  The  forenoon  was  spent 
in  the  discussion  of  this  subject. 

"Friday  afternoon.  May  27th. — The  unfinished 
business  of  the  morning,  viz.  the  transfer  of  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  was  resumed ; 
and  after  considerable  discussion,  the  question  was 
taken  on  the  motion  to  postpone  the  motion  for 
adopting  the  report  of  the  Committee,  to  take  up  the 
report  of  Dr.  Skinner,  and  was  decided  in  the  nega- 


184  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

tive.     The  yeas  on  this  motion  were  133,  and  the 
nays  134.'' 

Thus  it  appears,  that  on  this  question  the  members 
of  the  Assembly  in  favour  of  the  transfer,  had  a  ma- 
jority of  a  single  vote.  After  this,  the  subject  was 
not  again  called  up,  till  Thursday  morning  the  9th 
of  June,  when  the  final  vote  was  taken;  the  record 
of  which  is  as  follows  : 

''  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  transfer  of 
the  Western  Foreign  JNTissionary  Society,  was  taken 
up,  and  after  considerable  discussion,  the  previous 
question  was  moved  and  carried,  when  the  main 
question  on  adopting  the  report,  to  transfer  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  the  General 
Assembly,  was  put,  and  was  decided  in  the  negative, 
as  follows:  yeas  106  nays  110." 

Thus,  in  a  body  of  216  voters,  it  was  decided  by 
a  majority  of  four  votes,  to  set  aside  a  formal  solemn 
contract,  entered  into  with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
under  the  sanction  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1S35; 
and  to  refuse  the  acceptance  of  the  transfer  which 
the  Synod  had  actually  made,  on  the  faith  that  the 
contract  to  which  they  had  been  invited,  would  cer- 
tainly be  fulfilled.  A  very  able  protest,  with  87  sig- 
natures, was  entered  against  this  proceeding;  and 
was  answered,  or  rather  replied  to,  by  a  Committee 
of  the  majority  of  the  Assembly,  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  These  papers  are  too  long  for  insertion  in 
this  sketch ;  and  after  tlic  quotations  already  made, 
are  not  necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  views 
and   aims   of   the    disagreeing   parties.      Probably, 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  185 

among  all  the  extraordinary  doings  of  the  Assembly 
of  1836,  there  was  no  one  act,  which  had  a  greater 
influence  in  producing  the  changes  and  reform  of 
the  following  year,  than  that  which  is  now  the  sub- 
ject of  notice.  To  violate  a  formal  treaty,  and  de- 
clare that  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  its  aggregate 
and  distinctive  character,  should  not  establish  and 
sustain  a  Foreign  Missionary  Board,  (leaving  all  its 
members  to  their  own  preferences  of  the  mode  in 
which  their  missionary  duties  should  be  discharged,) 
was  calculated  to  excite  both  grief  and  indignation, 
and  to  produce  a  powerful  reaction.  Accordingly, 
the  subject  was  resumed  in  the  General  Assembly  of 
1837,  and  the  following  transactions  took  place. 

"Wednesday  Morning  June  7th,  1837:  The 
Committee  on  Overture  No.  7,  viz.  the  overture 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Salem,  on  the  subject  of  fo- 
reign missions,  made  a  report,  which  was  accepted, 
and  adopted,  by  yeas  and  nays,  as  follows :  viz. 

"  1 .  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  will 
superintend  and  conduct,  by  its  own  proper  autho- 
rity, the  work  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  by  a  Board  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  directly  amenable  to  said  Assembly. 

"  2.  The  General  Assembly  shall  at  its  present 
meeting,  choose  forty  ministers  and  forty  laymen,  as 
members  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  one 
fourth  part  of  whom  shall  go  out  annually,  in  alpha- 
betical order;  and  thereafter  ten  ministers  and  ten 
laymen  shall  be  annually  elected  as  members  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  whose  term  of  office 
16* 


186  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

shall  be  four  years ;  and  these  forty  ministers  and 
forty  laymen,  so  appointed,  shall  constitute  a  Board 
to  be  styled,  ^  The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca,' to  which,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  intrusted, 
with  such  directions  and  instructions  as  may  from 
time  to  time  be  given  by  the  General  Assembly,  the 
superintendence  of  the  foreign  missionary  operations 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  This  Board  shall  make 
annually  to  the  General  Asscm])ly  a  report  of  their 
proceedings,  and  submit  for  its  approval  such  plans 
and  measures  as  may  be  deemed  useful  and  necessary. 

"  3.  The  Board  of  Directors  shall  hold  their  first 
meeting,  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  directed 
by  the  present  General  Assembly,  and  shall  hold  a 
meeting  annually,  at  some  convenient  time  during 
the  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly,  at  which  it 
shall  appoint  a  President,  Vice-President,  a  Corres- 
ponding Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  an  Executive 
Committee,  to  serve  for  the  ensuing  year.  It  shall 
belong  to  the  Board  of  Directors  to  review,  and  de- 
cide upon  all  the  doings  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee; to  receive  and  dispose  of  their  annual  report, 
and  to  present  a  statement  of  their  proceedings  to 
the  General  Assembly.  It  shall  be  their  duty,  also, 
to  meet  for  the  transaction  of  business  as  often  as 
may  be  expedient,  due  notice  of  every  special  meet- 
ing being  seasonably  given  to  every  member  of  the 
Board. 

"  4.  To  the  Executive  Committee,  consisting  of 
not  more  than  nine  members  beside  the  Correspond- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  187 

ing  Secretary  and  the  Treasurer,  shall  belong  the 
duty  of  appointing  all  missionaries  and  agents;  of 
designating  their  fields  of  labour ;  receiving  the  re- 
ports of  the  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  giving 
him  needful  directions,  in  reference  to  all  matters  of 
business  and  correspondence  intrusted  to  him ;  to 
authorize  all  appropriations  and  expenditures  of  mo- 
ney ;  and  to  take  the  particular  direction  and  man- 
agement of  the  foreign  missionary  work,  subject  to 
the  revision  and  control  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 
The  Executive  Committee  shall  meet  at  least  once 
a  month,  and  oftener  if  necessary;  five  members, 
meeting  at  the  time  and  place  of  adjournment  or 
special  call,  shall  constitute  a  quorum.  The  com- 
mittee shall  have  power  to  fill  their  own  vacancies, 
if  any  occur  during  the  recess  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors. 

"  5.  All  property,  houses,  lands,  tenements,  and 
permanent  funds,  belonging  to  the  said  Board  of  Fo- 
reign Missions,  shall  be  taken  in  the  name  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  held  in  trust 
by  them  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  ^  The  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,'  for  the  time  being. 

"  6.  The  seat  of  operations  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors shall  be  designated  by  the  Board, 

"  7.  The  Board  of  Directors  shall  have  povs^er,  and 
they  are  hereby  authorized  to  receive  a  transfer  of 
the  Foreign  Missionary  Societies,  or  either  of  them, 
now  existing  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  with  all 


188  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

the  missions,  and  funds,  under  the  care  of  and  be- 
longing to  such  societies. — Yeas  108,  Nays  29. 

"  Mr.  Plumer  offered  the  following  resolutions, 
which  were  adopted  :   viz. 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
nominate  Directors  for  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions be  directed  to  hold  their  first  meeting  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
on  Tuesday,  the  31st  of  October  next,  at  3  o'clock, 
P.  M." 

"  Wednesday  Afternoon,  June  7th  :  Mr.  Yeomans, 
from  the  Committee  to  nominate  Directors  for  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  made  a  report,  which 
was  accepted  and  adopted,  and  is  as  follows :  viz. 

"  Ministers. — John  N.  Campbell,  D.  D.,  Jacob 
Green,  William  W.  Phillips,  D.  D.,  Joseph  McEl- 
roy,  D.  D.,  Gardiner  Spring,  D.  D.,  John  M.  Krebs, 
Elias  W.  Crane,  George  Potts,  Edward  D.  Smith, 
Archibald  Alexander,  D.  D.,  Samuel  Miller,  D.  D., 
John  Breckinridge,  D.  D.,  George  Junkin,  D.  D., 
Nicholas  Murray,  Ashbel  Green,  D.  D.,  Corne- 
lius C.  Cuyler,  D.  D.,  John  McDowell,  D.  D., 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  Henry  A.  Board  man,  J.  L. 
Dinwiddie,  G.  W.  Musgrave,  John  C.  Backus,  Fran- 
cis Herron,  D.  D.,  Matthew  Brown,  D.  D.,  Elisha 
P.  Swift,  Thomas  D.  Baird,  David  Elliot,  D.  D., 
James  Hoge,  D.  D.,  Joshua  L.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  An- 
drew Todd,  William  S.   Plumer,  William  M.  At- 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  189 

kinson,  George  A.  Baxter,  D.  D.,  Samuel  L.  Gra- 
ham, D.  D.,  William  McPheters,  D.  D.,  Aaron  W. 
Leland,  D.  D.,  Thomas  Smyth,  John  Witherspoon, 
D.  D.,  Thomas  Goulding,  D.  D.,  James  L.  Sloss. 

"  Laymen. — Ananias  Piatt,  John  Woodworth, 
John  Owen,  James  Lenox,  James  Paton,  Moses  Al- 
len, Samuel  Boyd,  Henry  Rankin,  Hugh  Auchin- 
closs,  Robert  Jaffray,  Thomas  Pringle,  Benjamin 
McDowell,  Thomas  McKeen,  George  Morris,  Geo. 
Brown,  William  McDonald,  Alexander  Symington, 
Charles  Chauncey,  James  N.  Dickson,  William  Har- 
ris, M.  D.,  Alexander  Henry,  Matthew  Newkirk, 
Solomon  Allen,  Joseph  P.  Engles,  Robert  Wallace, 
Nathaniel  Ewing,  Harmer  Denny,  John  Hannen, 
Samuel  Thompson,  Charles  S.  Todd,  Samuel  C.  An- 
derson, James  Fitzgerald,  James  Caskie,  Frederick 
Nash,  Eugenius  A.  Nesbit,  Gilbert  T.  Snowden, 
James  Adger,  Joseph  H.  Lumpkin,  John  Ker,  M. 
D.,  John  Murphy." 

Thus,  at  length,  were  the  wishes  and  prayers  an- 
swered, of  those  who  had  long  and  earnestly  desired 
to  see  a  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  under  an  eccle- 
siastical appointment  and  responsibility,  established 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  act- 
ing in  its  distinctive  character.  The  Board,  agree- 
ably to  the  direction  of  the  Assembly,  held  its  first 
meeting  in  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Balti- 
more, on  the  31st  of  October  1837;  when  its  com- 
plete organization  was  harmoniously  effected,  and  a 
resolution  was  passed  that  "  the  principal  seat  of  its 
operations  be  in  the  city  of  New  York."     The  pro- 


190  PRESBYTERIAN     3IISSI0NS. 

ceedings  of  the  Board  are  already  before  the  public ; 
a  copy  of  the  pamphlet  containing  them  having  been 
sent  by  the  Executive  Committee,  according  to  a 
resolution  of  the  Board,  to  each  minister  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church. 


(  191  ) 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

From  the  preceding  compendious  view  of  Mis- 
sions in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  the  United 
States,  it  appears  that  this  Church  has  not  been  alto- 
gether insensible  of  the  importance  of  so  great  and 
sacred  a  concern,  nor  wholly  inactive  in  the  dis- 
charge of  her  duty.  In  Domestic  Missions  her  ex- 
ertions have  been  laudable,  and  her  efficiency  consi- 
derable ;  but  in  Heathen  and  Foreign  Missions,  she 
has  reason  to  mourn  over  her  remissness,  and  to  be 
humbled  in  view  of  her  small  participation  in  the 
great  work  of  evangelizing  the  world.  It  is  true 
indeed,  that  since  the  revival  of  the  missionary  spirit, 
within  the  last  fifty  years,  certain  unpropitious  cir- 
cumstances, some  of  which  the  present  sketch  has 
brought  into  view,  have  tended  to  restrain  her  efforts 
in  foreign  missionary  enterprise,  and  to  hold  her  in 
comparative  inaction.  But  no  apology  can  justify 
the  past  neglect ;  and  far  less  would  its  continuance 
admit  even  of  palliation.  By  the  good  providence 
and  gracious  interposition  of  God,  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  this  country  is,  at  present,  in  a  situation 
more  favourable  than  ever  heretofore,  for  command- 
ing all  her  resources,  and  exerting  her  whole  strength 
in  propagating  the  Gospel.  The  wise  and  decisive 
action  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1837,  has  delivered 
her  from  the  paralizing  effect  of  an   unfriendly  ex- 


192  PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

traneous  influence;  and  having  now  her  Boards  of 
Education,  and  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions, 
formally  and  fully  established,  free  from  internal  as 
well  as  external  counteraction,  she  has  at  her  disposal 
all  the  necessary  means  for  extensive  and  effective 
operations,  in  the  foreign  as  well  as  the  domestic 
missionary  field.  It  is  now  for  her  to  justify  or  to 
falsify,  the  allegation  that  has  often  been  made  by 
some,  not  the  most  friendly  to  her  institutions,  that 
she  has  neither  the  zeal  nor  the  skill,  indispensable 
for  managing  effectively  a  great  missionary  concern. 
Every  consideration,  therefore,  both  of  character  and 
duty,  loudly  demands  from  all  her  children,  to  put 
forth  their  whole  force,  and  to  bring  into  action  all 
their  means,  to  wipe  away  her  reproach,  and  to  give 
her  a  vigorous  operation,  in  obeying  her  risen  Savi- 
our's parting  command  to  his  disciples;  and  to  repair, 
as  far  as  it  can  be  repaired,  her  past  neglect,  and  de- 
monstrate that  she  is  animated  by  a  sincere  concern 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  a  supreme  regard  to  the 
glory  of  God — in  a  degree  not  exceeded  by  any 
Church  in  protestant  Christendom.  All  this,  her 
numbers  and  her  resources  put  fully  in  her  power, 
if  that  power  be  exerted  under  the  influence  of  a 
holy,  wisely  directed,  and  well  tempered  zeal.  Tq 
contribute  to  this  high  object,  as  far  as  his  ability 
extends,  let  the  author  of  tlie  foregoing  sketch  be 
permitted,  respectfully  to  submit  to  his  brethren  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  some  considerations  which 
appear  to  him  to  demand  a  general  and  very  serious 
attention. 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  193 

1.  The  importance  of  sustaining  our  missionary 
operations  on  right  principles,  and  from  right  mo- 
tives. A  regard  to  character  has  been  mentioned ; 
and  the  commendation  which  the  Apostle  Paul  be- 
stowed on  the  Churches  of  Achaia,  and  his  declara- 
tion that  their  example  had  "  provoked  very  many," 
shows  that  this  motive  may  lawfully  have  a  degree 
of  influence.  Yet  doubtless  it  ought  to  be  subordi- 
nate to  one  of  an  infinitely  higher  order ;  for  if  the 
preservation  of  character  itself  be  not  regarded  as 
subservient  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  promotion 
of  his  cause  in  the  world,  it  loses  its  chief  value. 
What  we  want  is,  that  it  should  be  brought  home  to 
the  heart  and  conscience  of  every  professing  Chris- 
tian, male  and  female,  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
that  there  is  a  palpable  defect,  a  manifest  flaw  in 
Christian  character,  so  long  as  he  or  she  does  nothing 
to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen.  Surely  the  posi- 
tive command  of  the  Saviour  to  "  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature,"  either  was  obligatory  only  on  the 
Apostles,  and  their  successors,  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  or  else  that  it  was,  and  still  is,  binding  on  all 
Christians  alike,  each  '^according  to  the  ability  that 
God  giveth."  Suppose  then — what  is  believed  not  to 
be  the  fact — that  the  command  of  Christ  was  intend- 
ed to  be  directly  obligatory  only  on  the  preachers 
of  the  Gospel,  still  the  question  dictated  by  inspira- 
tion will  demand  an  answer;  ^'  how  shall  they  preach 
except  they  be  sent?"  To  be  sent, implies  that  he  to 
whom  it  relates  goes  on  the  errand  of  another ;  al- 
though he  may  feel  a  deep  interest  for  himself,  in 
17 


194  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

the  business  of  his  mission.  Professing  Christians 
then,  must  send  the  preachers — the  missionaries  who 
go  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen.  This  ma- 
nifestly involves  the  duty  of  qualifying  them  to  be 
sent,  and  of  supporting  them  in  their  missionary 
work,  in  such  manner  as  shall  enable  them  to  per- 
form it  with  the  greatest  efficiency  ;  so  that  this  duty 
is  brought  directly  back,  with  all  its  solemn  sanc- 
tions, to  the  bosom  of  every  professing  Christian. 
Here  is  the  true  missionary  principle ;  and  it  is  the 
only  principle  that  can  be  relied  on,  for  the  regular, 
constant,  and  adequate  support  of  missionary  opera- 
tions. Novelty  and  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  feelings, 
whether  of  a  popular  audience  or  of  individuals  in 
private,  will  frequently  produce  great  temporary  ef- 
fects. But  the  influence  of  excitement  is  always 
transient,  and  is  often  followed  by  indifference,  and 
sometimes  by  disgust  or  aversion.  Now,  in  the  mis- 
sionary concern,  w^e  want  something  that  can  be  cal- 
culated upon,  as  steadily,  permanently,  and  affec- 
tively operative — and  here  we  find  it.  We  find  it  in 
a  deeply  settled  principle,  working  on  the  heart  and 
conscience  of  every  Christian,  that  he  and  she  are 
bound  by  the  allegiance  and  the  gratitude  they  owe 
to  the  Saviour,  in  whom  is  all  their  own  hope  for 
eternity,  to  send  his  soul-saving  Gospel  to  the  mil- 
lions who,  for  want  of  it,  are  perishing  in  ignorance 
and  sin.  If  this  principle  can  be  radicated  in  the 
hearts  of  Christian  professors  generally  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  we  shall  never  know  the  want,  ei- 
ther of  funds  or  of  missionaries  for  heathen  missions. 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  195 

Parents,  under  the  divine  blessing,  will  instil  the 
principle  into  the  minds  of  their  children,  the  young 
will  imbibe  it  from  the  old,  talented  and  educated 
youth  will  feel  its  constraining  power  and  covet  the 
missionary  work  ;  the  widow,  too,  will  bring  her 
mite,  the  poor  man  his  dollar,  and  the  rich  man  his 
hundreds  or  thousands,  and  cast  them  cheerfully  into 
the  consecrated  treasury.  In  a  word,  the  Church  of 
God,  in  her  embodied  strength,  will  "  come  up  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  and  elders  of  churches,  therefore,  should 
use  incessant  efforts  to  inculcate  this  principle,  in 
every  congregation.  "  Do  you  hold  this  principle 
and  purpose,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  act  upon  it?'' 
may  not  improperly  be  a  question  propounded  to 
every  individual,  when  application  is  made  for  the 
full  communion  of  the  Church. 

2.  Before  the  world  shall  be  converted  to  God, 
there  must  be  a  practical  conviction — just  such  a 
conviction  as  some  of  our  best  missionaries  now 
among  the  heathen,  tell  us  has  sunk  into  the  depths 
of  their  souls — that  it  is  the  power  of  God  alone,  work- 
ing by  his  Spirit  on  the  minds  of  the  heathen,  that 
can  ever  change  them — raise  them  from  the  abyss  of 
their  depravity  and  awful  degradation,  renew  them 
unto  holiness,  inspire  them  with  the  faith  and  hope 
of  the  Gospel,  and  prepare  them  for  communion  with 
God  on  earth,  and  the  more  perfect  communion  of 
the  heavenly  state.  But  in  close  connexion  with 
this  full  sense  of  dependence  on  God  alone  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen,  there  will  be  a  firm  and 


196  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

lively  faith  in  God,  that  in  his  own  good  time,  his 
almighty  grace  will  actually  produce  this  effect,  not- 
withstanding all  the  wretchedness,  abandoned  vice, 
and  almost  brutal  debasement,  in  which  pagan  nations 
are  now  beheld ;  and  notwithstanding  all  the  opposi- 
tion which  may  be  made  from  earth  and  hell — be- 
cause he  has  promised,  and  cannot  lie,  that  his  be- 
loved Son,  as  the  reward  of  his  sufferings  and  death, 
^' shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied," 
and  expressly  "  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession."  Here,  in  the  next  place,  will  be  the 
firm  foundation  for  the  prayer  of  faith  ;  prayer  which 
will  take  hold  on  the  promises  of  God  as  divine 
realities,  that  must  and  will  meet  their  accomplish- 
ment ;  prayer  which  will  plead  for  the  fulfilment  of 
the  divine  engagements  with  an  earnestness  like  that 
with  which  Jacob  wrestled  with  the  angel  of  the 
covenant ;  prayer  which  will  regard  not  only  the  pe- 
rishing state  of  the  heathen,  but  which  also  will  look 
beyond  and  above  it — look  to  the  triumph  of  the  Re- 
deemer over  the  prince  of  darkness,  in  the  the  total 
subversion  of  his  empire,  and  the  establishment  on 
its  ruins  of  the  kingdom  and  the  reign  of  Immanuel ; 
prayer,  in  a  word,  that  will  contemplate  the  glory  of 
the  blessed  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  shin- 
ing in  all  its  splendour,  when  the  riches  of  divine 
grace  are  displayed  in  the  congregated  host  of  the 
elect,  gathered  from  every  kindred  and  people  and 
tongue  under  heaven. 

Now,  as  it  is  believed  that  there  must  be  a  great 


PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS.  197 

increase  of  these  things,  among  Christians  in  general^ 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Melennial  age,  so  the  more 
there  is  of  them,  in  reference  to  the  missionary- 
operations  now  going  on  in  our  own  and  in  other 
churches,  the  greater  will  be  the  well  founded  hope, 
that  these  missions  will  be  crowned  with  a  large  and 
the  most  desirable  success.  Not  only  should  their 
best  endeavours  be  used  by  the  judicatories  of  the 
church,  and  by  the  minister  and  elders  of  particular 
congregations,  to  secure  a  better  attendance  on  the 
monthly  concert,  and  a  right  management  of  it  when 
the  people  convene  for  its  observance ;  but  in  coun- 
try places,  and  in  the  winter,  it  may  be  expedient 
to  have  two  or  three  locations,  instead  of  one,  in 
which  the  people  of  a  neighbourhood  may  meet  in 
small  companies  for  social  prayer,  and  other  exer- 
cises appropriate  to.  the  stated  season  of  devotion. 
This  will  take  away  most  of  the  ground  for  the 
common  reason  assigned  for  absence  from  the  con- 
cert, that  the  distance  of  the  church  from  a  large  part 
of  the  congregation,  and  the  difficulty  and  even  dan- 
ger of  travelling  in  the  dark,  prevents  a  general  at- 
tendance. It  ought  also  to  be  inculcated  on  those 
who  cannot  or  do  not  attend,  that  they  may  and 
ought,  in  their  private  retirements,  to  spend  some 
time  in  special  prayer,  while  their  brethren  are 
spending  it  in  social  devotion.  If  this  be  done 
with  a  proper  frame  of  mind,  the  concert  will  be 
observed  by  those  who  are  absent,  as  well  as  by  those 
who  are  present  in  a  particular  place.  A  prayer 
hearing  God  may  be  addressed  in  any  place,  and 
17* 


198 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS 


tliose  who  pray  in  private,  in  the  manner  recom- 
mended, may  mingle  their  petitions  and  their  praises 
with  those  who  assemble  for  the  purpose. 

3.  Dependance  on  God  for  the  success  of  missions 
to  the  benighted  pagans  ought  not  to  diminish,  but 
to  increase,  the  means  and  exertions  that  we  use  to 
produce  this  effect.  The  great  encouragement  which 
is  presented  to  us  in  the  oracles  of  inspiration,  to  be 
diligent  and  persevering  in  the  use  of  means  is,  that 
they  are  appointed  by  God,  and,  as  his  ordinary  dis- 
pensation, indissolubly  connected  with  his  blessing. 
Our  Saviour's  command  to  ask,  seek,  and  knock,  is 
connected,  as  an  encouragement,  with  the  declara- 
tion that  "  he  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that 
seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall 
be  opened" — and  this  declaration,  or  promise,  is, 
by  himself,  directly  applied  to  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  '*  If  ye  then  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more  shall 
your  Heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him."  In  like  manner,  the  apostle  Paul  en- 
joins on  the  Philippians — "  Work  out  your  own  sal- 
vation with  fear  and  trembling" — and  why  ? — "  For 
it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  do, 
of  his  good  pleasure."  Here  the  entire  efficiency  and 
sovereign  good  pleasure  of  God,  in  the  matter  of  our 
salvation,  is  assigned  as  tlie  very  reason  why  we  our- 
selves should  work  it  out — assigned  as  a  powerful 
encouragement,  as  it  unquestionably  is;  for  what  en- 
couragement to  use  all  our  own  efforts  can  be  so  ani- 
mating, as  the  knowledge  that  we  have  an  Almighty 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  199 

Helper  to  aid  us,  and  whose  good  pleasure  it  is  to 
work  in  us  and  with  us,  and  to  render  our  faithful 
endeavours  successful. 

Among  the  means  for  the  prosecution  of  missions, 
funds  and  missionaries,  are  at  once  seen  to  be  essen- 
tial. In  the  foreign  field,  nothing  can  be  done  with- 
out them.  In  addition  to  what  has  already  been  sug- 
gested on  this  topic,  let  the  writer  be  permitted  to 
express  his  conviction,  that  there  has  never  yet 
been,  among  the  professors  of  religion  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  any  thing  like  a  general  and  just 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  property,  which  each  indi- 
vidual ought,  as  a  matter  of  sacred  duty,  to  dedicate 
to  the  Lord.  Some  few  instances  of  noble  Christian 
liberality  have  been  witnessed ;  but  take  the  church 
at  large,  and  probably  not  one  professor  of  religion 
in  fifty,  has  done  all  that  an  enlightened  sense  of 
duty  would  have  dictated.  It  is  believed,  however, 
that  penuriousness  in  this  matter,  has  been  less  ow- 
ing to  absolute  inherent  avarice,  than  to  the  want  of 
considering  the  subject  seriousl}^,  and  viewing  it  in  a 
proper  light.  It  cannot  be  discussed  at  any  length 
in  this  sketch,  and  must  be  left  to  be  brought  before 
their  people  by  the  pastors  of  our  churches.  The 
great  point  to  be  carried,  as  before  stated,  is,  to  get 
it  fixed  in  the  mind  of  every  professor  of  religion  that 
there  is  a  sacred  duty  to  be  performed  in  this  concern, 
and  an  estimate  to  be  made,  as  in  the  sight  of  a  heart 
searching  God,  of  what  each  individual  ought  to 
give ;  and  then,  without  unnecessary  delay,  to  give 
it  cheerfully  and  systematically.     The  want  of  sys- 


200  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

tern  in  this  concern,  is  one  great  cause  of  defect  in 
the  amount  contributed.  When  people  give  only  by- 
impulse,  they  think  that  what  (themselves  being 
judges)  is  a  handsome  donation,  made  now  and  then, 
not  only  acquits  them  of  their  obligations,  but  ren- 
ders them  meritorious.  Whereas  if  they  would  take 
an  account  of  what  the  God  of  providence  has  put 
into  their  hands  as  his  stewards,  and  say,  as  in  view 
of  their  last  account,  what  portion  of  it  they  ought, 
annually  or  habitually,  to  render  back  to  him  as  a 
voluntary  thank  offering,  and  from  a  desire  to  pro- 
mote the  cause,  and  build  up  the  kingdom  of  their 
Redeemer  in  the  world,  it  would  reach  an  amount 
far  beyond  what  is  produced  by  impulse ;  and  be  at- 
tended, moreover,  by  the  comfort  of  an  easy  mind 
and  an  approving  conscience. 

Generally  speaking,  missionaries  must  be  young 
men.  The  time  may  come  w^hen  some  men  in  mid- 
dle life,  or  beyond  it,  may  be  called  to  quit  places  of 
eminence  in  the  church  at  home,  and  go  on  missions. 
At  present  we  look  to  the  pious,  and  talented,  and 
educated  youth,  of  our  churches,  to  devote  their  lives 
to  this  sacred  work.  When  any  young  convert,  un- 
der the  constraining  influence  of  love  to  his  Redeem- 
ing God,  thinks  of  devoting  his  life  to  the  service  of 
that  Redeemer  in  the  Gospel  ministry,  it  might  be 
well,  at  the  present  day,  if  he  would  immediately  put 
the  question  to  himself,  whether  he  is  willing  to  go 
out  as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen  ?  and,  in  like  man- 
ner, young  converts,  of  both  sexes,  who  have  no  pros- 
pect or  thought  of  the  ministerial  vocation,  may  do 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  201 

well  to  ask  themselves  whether,  in  the  stations  for 
which  they  are,  or  may  be,  severally  qualified,  they 
are  willing  to  leave  all  for  Christ,  and  to  become  in- 
struments of  making  his  preciousness,  of  which  they 
now  taste  the  sweetness,  known  to  the  perishing  pa- 
gans. This  would  be  one  good  method  of  bringing 
the  genuineness  of  their  conversion  to  the  test,  and  of 
impressing  their  minds,  through  the  whole  of  their 
subsequent  lives,  with  the  unspeakable  importance  of 
missionary  work.  But  nothing  could  be  more  con- 
trary to  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  than  that  all  who 
have  no  personal  reluctance  to  go,  either  ought  to  go, 
or  are  fit  to  go.  His  judgment  is,  that  no  occurrence 
could  be  more  disastrous  to  the  church,  than  a  heed- 
less enthusiasm  to  go  out  on  missions;  resembling 
that  of  the  crusaders,  to  dispossess  the  Mohamedan 
Saracens  of  the  holy  land.  No  verily,  while  every 
real  convert  ought  to  be  unreservedly  devoted  to 
the  service  of  God ;  and  while  it  may  be  of  great  use 
for  all,  to  think  early,  that  they  may  think  long,  and 
at  last  justly,  on  the  subject  of  missions,  yet  much 
meditation,  much  prayer  and  fasting,  and  much  at- 
tention to  the  aspect  of  Providence,  and  much  con- 
sultation with  the  most  pious  and  judicious  Christians, 
should  invariably  precede  the  determination  of  any 
individual  to  offer  to  be  a  Christian  missionary. 
Many  may  have  much  of  a  true  missionary  spirit, 
and  yet  may  not  possess  that  bodily  constitution,  or 
those  mental  qualities,  or  that  freedom  from  existing 
ties  and  engagements,  without  which  it  cannot  be  ex- 
pedient or  lawful  to  assume  the  missionary  charac- 


202  PRESBYTERIAN     31ISSI0NS. 

ter.  When  a  missionary  proves  unfaithfulj  and  be- 
comes a  reproach  to  the  cause,  he  does  it  an  injury 
which  cannot  be  calculated ;  and  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  which,  any  one  who  thinks  of  being  a  mis- 
sionary, may  well  tremble.  The  error,  however,  at 
present,  is  commonly  found  on  the  side,  not  of  too 
much,  but  of  too  little  zeal ;  and  the  best  means  that 
can  be  devised  ought  to  be  brought  into  operation, 
to  impress  the  minds  of  our  theological  students, 
whether  in  the  public  seminaries,  or  under  the  di- 
rection of  private  teachers,  with  the  sacred  obliga- 
tions that  may  be  resting  on  them,  to  give  them- 
selves to  the  Lord,  for  his  service  in  foreign  lands. 
Yet  there  ought  not  to  be  any  thing  that  virtually 
amounts  to  constraint,  or  compulsion,  in  this  matter. 
For  if  a  missionary's  whole  will  and  heart  are  not 
set  on  his  work,  he  will  be  likely  to  faint  and  desire 
to  abandon  it,  when  he  comes  to  encounter  its  diffi- 
culties and  privations.  0  for  a  host  of  Brainerds 
and  Martyns  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  meet  its 
present  missionary  exigencies  !  God  can  raise  them 
up,  and  let  his  people  ontrcal  hmi  earnestly  for  this 
inestimable  blessing. 

4.  Faithful  missionaries  ought  to  be  "esteemed 
very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake ;"  and 
every  kindness  should  be  shown  them  on  depart- 
ing from  our  shores,  and  every  reasonable  provision 
be  made  for  their  support  in  foreign  lands  ;  and 
much  sympathy  ought  to  be  felt,  and  many  prayers 
to  be  offered  for  them,  in  the  arduous  service  in 
which  they  are  employed.     Yet  they  are  neither  to 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  203 

be  idolized  nor  flattered.  The  latter,  if  it  do  not 
spoil,  may  greatly  injure  them ;  and  the  former  may 
provoke  God  to  cut  short  their  days;  to  show  us  that 
no  particular  instrument  is  necessary  to  the  execu- 
tion of  his  purposes ;  and  that  he  can  form  at  plea- 
sure such  agents  as  his  work  requires.  One  of  the 
kindest  things  that  can  be  done  for  missionaries  is, 
to  make  some  provision  for  their  widows  and  chil- 
dren, when  they  are  removed  by  death;  and  for 
themselves,  when  sickness  or  a  broken  constitution, 
compels  them  to  leave  the  missionary  field.  To 
this  important  object,  it  is  hoped  that  in  due  time  the 
requisite  regard  will  be  shown. 

5.  We  ought  not  to  calculate  that  great  and  speedy 
success  will  follow  our  missionary  enterprises.  The 
instruction  of  ignorant,  debased,  and  vicious  heathen 
must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  require  considerable 
time:  and  after  they  are  instructed,  God  may  see 
meet  to  put  our  faith  and  patience  to  a  prolonged 
and  painful  trial ;  and  yet,  if  we  persevere,  he  may 
eventually  crown  a  mission,  which  seemed  to  be 
ipost  unpromising,  with  the  most  signal  success.  So 
it  was  in  the  mission  that  was  fitted  out,  under  the 
most  flattering  auspices,  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Yealrs  on  years  elapsed,  without  a  single  convert 
being  made,  and  disaster  after  disaster,  befel  the  mis- 
sion. Yet  at  last,  it  seemed  as  if  the  prophetic  inter- 
rogatory "  shall  a  nation  be  born  at  once  ?"  was  going 
to  be  answered  aflirmatively.  An  adverse  tide  has 
since  set  in  on  that  mission,  by  the  criminal  and  re- 


204  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

proachful  conduct  of  men  calling  themselves  Chris- 
tians; but  the  evil  is  at  length  abated,  if  not  re- 
moved, and  most  exemplary  Christian  churches  are 
there  established.  Something  of  a  similar  kind  has 
often  happened.  It  appears  by  the  foregoing  sketch, 
that  the  glorious  success  which  ultimately  rewarded 
the  labours  of  our  own  Brainerd,  did  not  take  place, 
till  even  his  faith  and  hope  seemed  on  the  point  of 
extinction.  Let  us  beware  then  of  prescribing  to  a 
sovereign  God.  If  he  grants  speedy  success  to  a 
particular  mission,  let  us  receive  it  with  lively  and 
humble  thankfulness ;  and  if,  in  another  mission,  or 
in  all  the  missions  we  send  out,  He,  for  a  time  grants 
no  success,  but  even  seems  to  frown,  as  he  has  done 
on  our  African  mission,  let  us  bow  and  adore  his 
holy  sovereignty;  but  let  us  not  despond,  or  be  im- 
patient— "  In  due  time  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint 
not.'^ 

6.  In  managing  the  missionary  concerns  at  home, 
there  certainly  ought  to  be  as  strict  an  economy  in 
the  use  of  missionary  funds,  as  an  enlightened  regard 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  general  cause  will  permit. 
To  waste  or  misapply  these  funds,  would  be  a  spe- 
cies of  sacrilege ;  and  the  more  gratuitous  services 
that  are  freely  offered  the  better;  provided  there  be  a 
reasonable  prospect  that  such  services,  should  they 
be  accepted,  will  be  really  advantageous.  But  it  is 
not  true  economy  to  grudge  a  reasonable  and  liberal 
compensation  to  those  who  give  up  other  employ- 
ments, and  devote  all  their  time  and  talents  without 


PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS.  205 

reservation,  to  the  faithful  service  of  the  Society ; 
because  without  such  a  compensation,  the  best  servi- 
ces, as  all  experience  shows,  can  not  be  secured;  nor 
the  real  interests  of  the  Society,  even  in  pecuniary 
matters,  be  best  promoted.  Parsimony  here,  is  real 
prodigality.  There  ought  also  to  be  a  reasonable 
confidence,  cheerfully  granted  to  those  who  manage 
the  concerns  of  the  Society;  because  without  it,  they 
cannot  act  with  the  freedom  and  promptitude,  which 
the  exigency  of  affairs  may  sometimes  imperiously 
demand.  On  the  other  hand,  the  officers  of  the  So- 
ciety ought  to  practise  no  concealment,  nor  violate 
any  order  of  the  Board,  nor  fail  to  take  advice,  when 
it  can  be  easily  and  seasonably 'obtained.  It  is  most 
desirable  that  all  seeking  of  fame,  all  regard  to  great 
worldly  emolument,  and  all  craving  of  office,  should 
be  for  ever  eschewed  and  cautiously  guarded  against, 
by  those  who  are  concerned  in  the  management  of 
missions.  There  are  some  trusts  and  stations  of  re- 
sponsibility, which  those  who  covet  and  take  pains 
to  obtain,  are  commonly  the  least  fit  to  hold ;  and  in 
the  sacred  missionary  cause,  it  may  safely  be  assumed 
as  a  general  principle,  that  the  best  men  to  be  entrus- 
ted with  its  precious  and  often  delicate  concerns, 
must  be  sought  for  before  they  are  found ;  that  is, 
they  will  not  ordinarily  present  themselves  as  candi- 
dates for  office,  but  only  yield,  and  often  with  diffi- 
dence and  trembling,  to  the  opinions  of  their  breth- 
ren. If  the  management  of  our  missionary  affairs 
ever  becomes  an  object  of  worldly  or  secular  ambi- 
18 


206  PRESBYTERIAN     MISSIONS. 

tion,  rely  upon  it,  Ichabod  will  be  iifScribed  upon 
them. 

Such  are  the  remarks,  which  the  author  of  the 
foregoing  sketch  has  ventured  to  submit  to  his 
brethren,  in  terminating  one  of  the  last  services  that 
he  can  reasonably  hope  to  render  to  the  Church  of 
Christ. 


(  207) 


APPENDIX. 


By  an  oversight,  for  which  the  writer  hopes  the 
multifarious  nature  of  this  publication  will  make 
some  apology,  the  proceedings  of  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  escaped 
due  attention,  till  the  sheet  in  which  the  order  of 
time  would  have  required  their  insertion  had  passed 
the  press.  The  observance  of  that  order,  indeed, 
would  have  produced  a  very  unpleasant  disruption  of 
the  narrative  of  the  proceedings  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, relative  to  this  Society;  and  as  the  dates  of 
the  transactions  are  given,  no  confusion  is  produced 
by  making  them  the  subject  of  an  Appendix.  The 
following  is  a  summary  account  of  the  meeting  re- 
ferred to : 

"Philadelphia,  May  23d,  1837.* 
"  Agreeably  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Western 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  the  Annual  meeting  of 


*  It  will  be  observed  that  this  meeting  took  place  more  than 
a  fortnight  before  the  subject  of  the  transfer  was  taken  up  in 
the  General  Assembly ;  which,  as  already  stated,  was  on  the 
7th  of  June. 


208  APPENDIX. 

the  Board  of  Directors  was  held  in  the  session  room 
of  the  Sixth  Presbyterian  church,  Philadelphia,  on 
Tuesday,  May  23d,  1837,  at  half  past  seven  o'clock, 
P.  M." 

The  names  of  the  members  of  the  Board,  and  of 
the  Directors  of  the  Society,  are  then  given  in  detail. 
It  appears  that  there  had  been  appointed,  five  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  and  six  of  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia.  The  Presbyteries  of  Alle- 
ghany, Blairsville,  Carlisle,  Erie,  Kaskaskia,  Louis- 
ville, Miami,  New-Castle,  Philadelphia,  Philadelphia 
2d,  Redstone,  Sidney,  and  Susquehanna,  had  also, 
each  appointed  representatives,  agreeably  to  a  provi- 
sion of  the  Constitution ;  of  whom  twenty-six  were 
present.     The  minutes  continue  as  follows : 

"Rev.  Dr.  Green,  Vice-President,  opened  the 
meeting  with  prayer. 

"  The  following  resolution,  submitted  by  the  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  Mr.  Lowrie,  after  full  delibe- 
ration, was  decided  in  the  affirmative: 

'^Resolved,  That  the  interests  of  the  Missionary 
cause,  as  connected  with  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  require  a  change  of  location  of  the 
centre  of  its  operations  from  the  city  of  Pittsburgh." 

With  two  exceptions,  all  the  members  present 
voted  for  this  resolution.  The  minutes  then  pro- 
ceed as  follows : 

«  The  Rev.  David  Elliot,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  T. 
D.  Bairdj  being  members  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee, after  the  above  members  had  voted,  expressed 


APPENDIX.  209 

their  acquiescence  in  the  above  vote  in  the  affirma- 
tive. 

"  Nays — none. 

"  The  constitution  of  the  Society  requires,  that  to 
carry  the  affirmative  of  the  above  question,  there  be 
a  majority  in  the  affirmative  of  all  the  members  of 
the  Board  existing  at  the  time ;  and  there  being  26 
votes  out  of  the  35,  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

"  The  following  resolution  was  then  submitted, 
viz. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  centre  of  operations  of  the  So- 
ciety be,  for  the  present,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

"  After  an  interchange  of  sentiment  till  a  late 
hour,  the  Board  adjourned  till  half-past  eight  o'clock 
to-morrow. 

Wednesday,  May  24th,  1837. 

"  The  Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  and 
was  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Elliot. 

"  The  consideration  of  the  unfinished  business  was 
resumed,  and  after  full  deliberation,  was  decided  in 
the  affirmative. 

"  The  Corresponding  Secretary,  laid  before  the 
Board  the  following  paper,  which  had  been  read 
by  him  on  yesterday. 

" '  In  order  to  facilitate  the  plan  of  the  contempla- 
ted removal  of  the  centre  of  the  operations  of  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  the  organization  of  an  Executive  Committee, 
in  the  place  to  which  the  said  centre  may  be  remov- 
ed, we,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Board,  do 
hereby  resign  our  seats  in  the  same,  that  our  places 
18* 


210  APPENDIX. 

may  be  filled,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board, 
with  persons  residing  near  the  future  location  of  the 
Society.  Francis  Herron, 

Robert  Patterson, 
E.  P.  Swift, 
John  Hannen, 
Samuel  Thompson, 
Alexander  Semple, 
Alexander  Laughlin, 
Pittsburgh,  Jlpril  2^th,  1837.'  " 
"  On  motion, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  above  vacancies  in  the  Board 
of  Directors  be  filled  with  the  following  named  per- 
sons: 

"  Rev.  W.  W.  Phillips,  D.  D.  Rev.  E.  W.  Crane, 
^*  Joseph  McElroy,  D.  D.  Mr.  James  Lenox, 
"    John  M.  Krebs,  "    James  Paton. 

"  Nicholas  Murray, 
"  Resolved  further,  That  the  above  named  per- 
sons be  appointed  members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee ;  and  that  Alexander  Symington,  Esq.  be  the 
President  of  the  Society,  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Green, 
D.  D.  Vice-President,  and  Mr.  James  Paton,  Trea- 
surer. 

"  On  motion, 

**  Resolved,   That  the  name  and  style  of  the  So- 
ciety be  '  The  Presbyterian  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society.' 
"  On  motion, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Francis  Herron,  D.  D., 
Rev.  David  Elliot,  D.  D.,  Rev.  T.  D.  Baird,  Rev.  E. 


APPENDIX.  211 

P.  Swift,  Rev.  John  Nevin,  Rev.  Robert  Patterson, 
Walter  H.  Lowrie,  Samuel  Thompson,  Alexander 
Semple,  John  Hannen,  and  Alexander  Laughlin,  of 
the  city  of  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity,  be  a  Board  of 
Agency  for  the  Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  for  the  Western  States;  with  such  powers 
as  may  be  necessary  to  aid  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee in  the  appointment  of  Agents  for  bringing  out 
the  resources  of  the  churches  in  the  Western  States, 
and  for  conducting  the  missionary  operations  among 
the  Indian  tribes. 

"  Adjourned  to  meet  on  Friday,  the  26th  instant, 
at  half-past  seven  o'clock,  P.  M.,  in  the  Central 
Presbyterian  church. 

Friday  Morning,  May  26M,  1837. 

"  The  Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  at  the 
Central  Presbyterian  church.  This  being  the  even- 
ing appointed  for  the  public  Anniversary  of  the  So- 
ciety, a  large  assembly  being  present,  the  Rev.  James 
Blythe  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer. 

"  Extracts  of  the  annual  report  were  read  by  the 
Corresponding  Secretary. 

"  Addresses  were  then  made  by  the  Rev.  Archi- 
bald Alexander,  D.  D.,  Rev.  R.  J.  Breckinridge, 
Rev.  John  A.  Mitchell,  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  S.  Plu- 
mer;  and,  at  a  late  hour,  the  congregation  was  dis- 
missed. 

"  The  Board  continuing  in  session,  on  motion  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler, 

"  Resolved,   That  the  annual  report  be  adopted, 


212  APPENDIX. 

and  that  it  be  published  and  distributed  under  the 
direction  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  George  Potts  and  Mo- 
ses Allen,  Esq.,  be  appointed  members  of  the  Board, 
in  the  room  of  the  Rev.  David  Elliot,  D.  D.,  and  the 
Rev.  T.  D.  Baird,  resigned,  and  that  Mr.  Allen  be  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

"  Adjourned  to  meet  in  Baltimore,  the  last  Friday 
in  October  nexf 

The  Board  met  in  Baltimore  at  the  time  specified 
in  the  foregoing  adjournment ;  but  did  no  business, 
except  that  which  related  to  the  transfer  of  all  its 
concerns,  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States.  Com- 
munications had  been  received  from  the  Synods  of 
Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia,  the  former  of  which 
had  passed,  and  the  latter  had  subsequently  adopted, 
the  two  following  resolutions  : 

"  Resolved,  1st,  That  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  in  so  far 
as  they  derive  authority  from  us,  be  and  they  here- 
by are  empowered  and  directed  to  transfer  to  the 
Board  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  meet  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore  on  the  31st  instant,  the  said  Society, 
with  all  its  funds,  Missions,  and  papers. 

'^Resolved,  2d,  That  the  members  of  the  said 
Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, now  acting  in  the  same  by  virtue  of  appoint- 
ments made  by  this  Synod,  be  authorized  and  ap- 
pointed to  act,  from  and  after  this  date,  so  long  as 


APPENDIX. 


213 


may  be  necessary  duly  and  properly  to  execute  the 
said  transfer,  and  no  longer,  at  which  time  the  said 
Board  shall  be  considered  as  dissolved/' 

The  foregoing  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Sy- 
nod of  Pittsburgh  on  the  26th  of  October,  and  by 
the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  on  the  30th  of  the  same 
month,  1837.  On  the  day  after  the  last  mentioned 
date,  the  following  paper  was  laid  before  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions:  viz. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  deriving  our  authority  from  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburgh,  in  pursuance  of  the  direction  of  the  said 
Synod,  in  their  resolution  of  the  26th  October,  1837, 
do  hereby  transfer  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  said  Society,  with 
all  its  funds,  Missions,  and  papers.  It  being  under- 
stood, that  this  transfer  shall  not  in  any  manner  affect 
or  annul  the  principles  on  which  the  Missionaries 
now  under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  from  the  Reformed  Presbyte- 
rian church,  were  received;  but  the  said  Mission- 
aries shall  sustain  the  same  relation  to  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  General  Assembly,  which 
they  have  £  stained  to  the  Presbyterian  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.  Walter  Lowrie, 

W.  W.  Phillips, 
N.  Murray, 
James  Lenox, 
John  M.  Krebs. 

Baltimore,  October  ^Ut,  1837." 


214  APPENDIX. 

The  transfer  was  accepted  by  the  following  reso- 
lution: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  transfer  of  the  Presbyterian 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  this  Board  be  accept- 
ed, on  the  terms  and  conditions  specified  ;  and  that 
the  Executive  Committee  be  directed  to  communi- 
cate this  fact  to  the  Synods  of  Pittsburgh  and  Phila- 
delphia, and  to  take  necessary  order  on  this  subject." 


THE    END. 


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